Nota: A tradução desta entrada está atualmente em revisão de qualidade, portanto parte do conteúdo é exibida temporariamente apenas em inglês.
Este verbete ainda não foi traduzido para o seu idioma, portanto o original é exibido abaixo.
state function
This term is a technical specification used primarily in thermodynamics and physical chemistry. It describes a property that is determined solely by the current condition of a system, such as pressure, temperature, or volume, regardless of the history of how the system arrived at that state. This distinguishes it from path functions, such as heat or work, which depend on the specific transition process.
In academic and professional scientific discourse, the term is used to simplify complex calculations by allowing researchers to ignore the intermediate steps of a chemical reaction or physical change. It is almost exclusively found in formal scientific literature and textbooks, and is not used in general conversation.
Meanings
Examples
Internal energy is a classic example of a state function.
Does the path taken affect the final value of a state function?
I need to remember that heat is not a state function.
The professor explained why enthalpy is considered a state function.
Since it is a state function, the change depends only on the initial and final states.
Wait, if it is a state function, then the history of the system is irrelevant.
We can calculate the difference in a state function regardless of the process used.
Is entropy always treated as a state function in this model?