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A Brief History of Thermodynamics Notation

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Rubin Battino

Department of Chemistry, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435

Scott E. Wood

Department o f Chemistry, Illinoins Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616

Laurence E. Strong

Department of Chemistry, Earlham College, Richmond, IN 47374

J. Chem. Educ., 1997, 74 (3), p 304

DOI: 10.1021/ed074p304

Publication Date (Web): March 1, 1997

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

This paper gives a brief history of thermodynamic notation for the energy, E, enthalpy, H, entropy, S, Gibbs energy, G, Helmholtz energy, A, work, W, heat, Q, pressure, P, volume, V, and temperature, T. In particular, the paper answers the question, "Where did the symbol S for entropy come from?"

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Domain):

History / Philosophy

Keywords (Subject):

Thermodynamics

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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

H Is for Enthalpy, Thanks to Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and Alfred W. Porter
Irmgard K. Howard
Journal of Chemical Education2002 79 (6), 697
- H Is for Enthalpy, Thanks to Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and Alfred W. Porter
  Irmgard K. Howard
  Journal of Chemical Education2002 79 (6), 697
  During the 19th century the letter H sometimes represented heat, but the designation of enthalpy was placed into the scientific literature in 1909 by J. P. Dalton and credited by him to Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. In 1922 Alfred W. Porter formally proposed ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
S is for Entropy. U is for Energy. What Was Clausius Thinking?
Irmgard K. Howard
Journal of Chemical Education2001 78 (4), 505
- S is for Entropy. U is for Energy. What Was Clausius Thinking?
  Irmgard K. Howard
  Journal of Chemical Education2001 78 (4), 505
  In the development of thermodynamics, 19th-century scientist Rudolf Clausius devised mathematical equations with which to describe the actions and relationships of heat and work. This paper traces his thinking from his 1850 publication on "The Moving ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links