1. Fundamentals of liquid-vapor systems

1.1 Basic notions of thermodynamics

Phase transitions or changes of state have been known for a very long time, but due to the complexity of the physical phenomena involved, they are still the subject of a great deal of study. During liquid-vapor state change, discontinuities appear in the state variables characterizing each phase.

1.1.1 Thermodynamic potentials

The thermodynamic equilibrium of a system reflects its state from a mechanical, thermal and chemical point of view. The state...