In
thermodynamics and
physical chemistry, 'thermochemistry' is the study of the
heat evolved or absorbed in
chemical reactions. Thermochemistry, generally, is concerned with the heat exchange accompanying transformations, such as mixing,
phase transitions, chemical reactions, etc., which includes calculations of such quantities as the
heat capacity,
heat of combustion,
heat of formation, etc. The ''laws of thermochemistry'' rest on two statements:
[1]
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Lavoisier and Laplace’s law (1782): the heat exchange accompanying a transformation is equal and opposite to the heat exchange accompanying the reverse transformation.
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Hess’s law (1840): the heat exchange accompanying a transformation is the same whether the process occurs in one or several steps
Both laws preceded the
first law of thermodynamics (1850); it can be shown, however, that they are a direct consequence of it.
They also investigated
specific heat and
latent heat.
See also
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Important publications in thermochemistry
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Isodesmic reaction
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Principle of maximum work
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Reaction Calorimeter
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Thomsen-Berthelot principle
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Thermodynamic databases for pure substances
References
1. A to Z of Thermodynamics, Perrot, Pierre, , , Oxford University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-19-856552-6
External links
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Thermochemistry - Britannica (1911)
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Thermochemistry - an overview