Temperature

The temperature of a system in classical thermodynamics is intimately related to the zeroth law of thermodynamics; two systems having to have the same temperature if they are to be in thermal equilibrium (i.e. there is no net heat flow between them). However, it is most useful to have a temperature scale. By making use of the ideal gas law one can define an absolute temperature

$T={\frac {pV}{Nk_{B}}}$

having the SI units of Kelvin (named in honour of William Thomson). Perhaps a better definition of temperature is

${\frac {1}{T(E,V,N)}}=\left.{\frac {\partial S}{\partial E}}\right\vert _{V,N}$

Configurational temperature

• András Baranyai "On the configurational temperature of simple fluids", Journal of Chemical Physics 112 pp. 3964-3966 (2000)

Non-equilibrium temperature

• Alexander V. Popov and Rigoberto Hernandez "Ontology of temperature in nonequilibrium systems", Journal of Chemical Physics 126 244506 (2007)

References

1. William Thomson "On an Absolute Thermometric Scale, founded on Carnot's Theory of the Motive Power of Heat, and calculated from the Results of Regnault's Experiments on the Pressure and Latent Heat of Steam", Philosophical Magazine October pp. (1848)