There are three laws conveying the fundamental principles of thermodynamics.

In later time, the most

fundamental law was neglected because its statement is very distinct and obvious and does not need to
be elaborated. It was settled by scientists then, that they are unable to form the set of rules unless the
neglected law is included. The law cannot be brought back easily, since there are already three fixed
laws with known appointed numbers. Ralph H. Fowler, a British physicist, came up with an idea in order
to include the neglected law in the list without rearranging its numbering and to avoid confusion, he
called the law the Zeroth Law.

The Zeroth Law states that when two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with another third body, then
the two bodies are also in equilibrium with one another. With this, temperature was established as the
fundamental and measurable property of matter.

The First Law states that the total increase of energy in a system is equivalent to the increase in thermal
energy plus the work done on the system. It also states that heat is a form of energy and thus, subjected
to the principle of conservation.

The Second Law states that heat energy cannot be transferred from a body at a lower temperature to a
body at a higher temperature without the addition of energy.

The Third Law states that the entropy of a pure crystal at absolute zero is zero. From the stated law,
entropy is an energy that does not do work, thus also called as waste energy. It is also used to
measure the disorder in a system. At absolute zero, there can be no heat energy therefore waste energy
non-existent as well. In a perfect crystal, its system is also perfectly ordered and any increase in
temperature causes disorder in it. With this example, there can be no lower entropy, thus it will always
have a positive value.
THERMODYNAMIC PROCESSES

Adiabatic Process

In an adiabatic process, the system is known to be perfectly insulated and the energy is transferred as
work only, therefore there is no heat transfer going inside and outside of the system (Q = 0). Knowing
that there is no heat transfer in this process, we can use this approximation in very fast processes where
there is not enough time for any transfer of energy to happen into and out of the system.

Isobaric Process

In isobaric process, the heat transfer that goes in and out of the system does work which also changes
the internal energy of the system. Through this, the pressure of the system does not change (p = const).

Isothermal Process

In an isothermal process, the transfer of heat inside and outside of the system must take place in a very
slow rate so that it would constantly adjust to the temperature through heat exchange while
maintaining thermal equilibrium. In isothermal processes the systems temperature stays constant (T =
const).

Isochoric Process Isometric Process

Isochoric process focuses on the behavior of gas within its container. In this process, its known that the
volume of any closed system stays constant (V = const), and because of that, the transfer of heat in and
out of the system does not do work, and the internal energy or the temperature of the system is only
changed.

Isentropic Process

An isentropic process is a reversible adiabatic process wherein there is no heat transfer. This process is
also called a constant entropy process where the fluid or gas in any system remains constant that makes
it an ideal process, which can be very helpful in comparing real processes.
Carnot cycle

The Carnot cycle includes the four processes, a) A reversible isothermal gas expansion process, wherein
the ideal gas within the system takes in a certain amount of heat (Qin) from a source at a high
temperature (Th). It expands then, and does work on its surroundings. b) A reversible adiabatic gas
expansion process, wherein the gas continuously expands and does work on surroundings. The system
in this process is thermally insulated, and the continuous expansion lowers the temperature and allows
the system to cool (Tl). c) A reversible isothermal gas compression process, wherein the surroundings
this time does the work towards the gas at a lower temperature, causing loss of heat (Qout). Lastly, d) a
reversible adiabatic gas compression process wherein the surroundings continuously do work towards
the gas, thus creating a rise in the temperature (Th). In this process, the system is thermally insulated
one again. This cycle is known have the greatest productivity and efficiency for an engine, because there
are no wasteful processes assumed like friction. There is also no conduction of heat in the different parts
of the system or engine at varying temperatures.
Rankine cycle

The Rankine cycle includes the following processes, a) the operating fluid is pumped from low pressure
to high pressure, and because the operating fluid is still a liquid, the pump only needs a small amount of
input energy. b) The liquid at high pressure is then heated at a constant pressure via external heat
source inside the boiler. The liquid then, becomes a dry, saturated vapor and the input energy needed
can be calculated numerically, with the use of steam tables, or graphically, with the use of h-s chart or
Mollier diagram. c) The vapor then, expands throughout a turbine that generates power, where its
temperature and pressure is lowered. In this process, some condensation might happen, and the output
can be calculated by steam tables, h-s chart or Mollier diagram. Lastly, d) the vapor will then enter the
condenser wherein it is subjected to constant pressure transforming the vapor to become a saturated
liquid. This cycle uses working fluids that are constantly evaporated and condensed, and is the major
operating cycle in power plants. The selection of the working fluid is reliant to its available range in
temperature.
Otto cycle

The otto cycle starts with a certain mass of air that is subjected at a constant pressure in a piston or
cylinder arrangement. The air then moves from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead center (TDC)
through an adiabatic (isentropic) compression. The gas is then subjected to a constant volume-heat
transfer by an external source while the piston is located at the top dead center, and is done to ignite
the fuel-air mixture and the subsequent rapid burning. It undergoes an adiabatic (isentropic) expansion,
which is also known as power stroke, and finally completes the cycle by forcing out the heat while the
piston is located at bottom dead center via a constant-volume process. The air is then ejected and the
system is replaced with a new set of air and fuel.

Brayton cycle

The Brayton cycle starts with an adiabatic, reversible compression to the inlet and compressor followed
by a constant pressure fuel combustion also known as constant pressure heat addition. The adiabatic,
reversible expansion takes the work from the air and utilize it to drive the compressor. The remaining
work is then used to accelerate the fluid, which can be observed in jet propulsions or to simply turn a
generator for electrical power generation. This process takes place in the turbine and exhaust nozzle.
The air is then cooled at constant pressure so that it will return to its initial condition.