Maxwell-Faraday Equation

The first commercially successful rechargeable battery. It uses a lead (Pb) anode, a lead dioxide (PbO₂) cathode, and a sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) electrolyte. During discharge, both electrodes are converted into lead sulfate (PbSO₄), and the sulfuric acid is consumed. This process is chemically reversible by applying an external current, making it a practical and robust energy storage system.

The critical temperature is the temperature above which a distinct liquid phase cannot be formed, regardless of the applied pressure. Each gas has a unique critical temperature. To liquefy a gas, it must first be cooled below this temperature. This concept, established by Thomas Andrews, is fundamental to understanding the conditions required for any liquefaction process.

Rayleigh scattering is the elastic scattering of light by particles much smaller than the light's wavelength. This phenomenon is responsible for the blue color of the daytime sky. Shorter, blue wavelengths of sunlight are scattered more effectively by the nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere than longer, red wavelengths, causing the sky to appear blue from an observer's perspective.

This foundational formula connects the macroscopic thermodynamic quantity of entropy (S) with the number of possible microscopic arrangements, or microstates (W), corresponding to the system's macroscopic state. The equation, \(S = k_B \ln W\), reveals that entropy is a measure of statistical disorder or randomness. The constant \(k_B\) is the Boltzmann constant, linking energy at the particle level with temperature.

The Boltzmann distribution describes the probability that a system in thermal equilibrium at temperature T will be in a specific microstate with energy E. This probability is proportional to the Boltzmann factor, \(e^{-E / k_B T}\). It implies that states with lower energy are exponentially more likely to be occupied than states with higher energy, with temperature modulating this preference.

Electromotive force (EMF) and electric potential difference (voltage) are distinct concepts, though both are measured in volts. EMF is the work per unit charge done by a non-conservative force (e.g., chemical reaction, changing magnetic field) to move charge within a source. Potential difference is the work per unit charge done by the conservative electrostatic field between two points.

Sublimation, the direct phase transition from solid to gas, occurs at temperatures and pressures below a substance's triple point. The triple point is the unique thermodynamic state where the solid, liquid, and gas phases can coexist in equilibrium. On a phase diagram, the sublimation curve separates the solid and gas phases, originating at the origin and ending at the triple point.