List of thermodynamic properties

In thermodynamics, a physical property is any property that is measurable, and whose value describes a state of a physical system. Thermodynamic properties are defined as characteristic features of a system, capable of specifying the system's state. Some constants, such as the ideal gas constant, Template:Mvar, do not describe the state of a system, and so are not properties. On the other hand, some constants, such as Template:Mvar (the freezing point depression constant, or cryoscopic constant), depend on the identity of a substance, and so may be considered to describe the state of a system, and therefore may be considered physical properties.

"Specific" properties are expressed on a per mass basis. If the units were changed from per mass to, for example, per mole, the property would remain as it was (i.e., intensive or extensive).

Regarding work and heat

Work and heat are not thermodynamic properties, but rather process quantities: flows of energy across a system boundary. Systems do not contain work, but can perform work, and likewise, in formal thermodynamics, systems do not contain heat, but can transfer heat. Informally, however, a difference in the energy of a system that occurs solely because of a difference in its temperature is commonly called heat, and the energy that flows across a boundary as a result of a temperature difference is "heat".

Altitude (or elevation) is usually not a thermodynamic property. Altitude can help specify the location of a system, but that does not describe the state of the system. An exception would be if the effect of gravity need to be considered in order to describe a state, in which case altitude could indeed be a thermodynamic property.

Thermodynamic properties and their characteristics

Property	Symbol	Units	Extensive?	Intensive?	Conjugate	Potential?
Activity	Template:Mvar	Template:Spaced ndash		Green tickY
Chemical potential	Template:Mvar	kJ/mol		Green tickY	Particle number Template:Mvar
Compressibility (adiabatic)	Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar	Pa−1		Green tickY
Compressibility (isothermal)	Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar	Pa−1		Green tickY
Cryoscopic constant	Template:Mvar	K·kg/mol		Green tickY
Density	Template:Mvar	kg/m3		Green tickY
Ebullioscopic constant	Template:Mvar	K·kg/mol		Green tickY
Enthalpy	Template:Mvar	J	Green tickY			Green tickY
Specific enthalpy	Template:Mvar	J/kg		Green tickY
Entropy	Template:Mvar	J/K	Green tickY		Temperature Template:Mvar	Green tickY (entropic)
Specific entropy	Template:Mvar	J/(kg K)		Green tickY
Fugacity	Template:Mvar	N/m2		Green tickY
Gibbs free energy	Template:Mvar	J	Green tickY			Green tickY
Specific Gibbs free energy	Template:Mvar	J/kg		Green tickY
Gibbs free entropy	Ξ	J/K	Green tickY			Green tickY (entropic)
Grand / Landau potential	Ω	J	Green tickY			Green tickY
Heat capacity (constant pressure)	Template:Mvar	J/K	Green tickY
Specific heat capacity (constant pressure)	Template:Mvar	J/(kg·K)		Green tickY
Heat capacity (constant volume)	Template:Mvar	J/K	Green tickY
Specific heat capacity (constant volume)	Template:Mvar	J/(kg·K)		Green tickY
Helmholtz free energy	Template:Mvar, Template:Mvar	J	Green tickY			Green tickY
Helmholtz free entropy	Φ	J/K	Green tickY			Green tickY (entropic)
Internal energy	Template:Mvar	J	Green tickY			Green tickY
Specific internal energy	Template:Mvar	J/kg		Green tickY
Internal pressure	Template:Mvar	Pa		Green tickY
Mass	Template:Mvar	kg	Green tickY
Particle number	Template:Mvar	Template:Spaced ndash	Green tickY		Chemical potential Template:Mvar
Pressure	Template:Mvar	Pa		Green tickY	Volume Template:Mvar
Temperature	Template:Mvar	K		Green tickY	Entropy Template:Mvar
Thermal conductivity	Template:Mvar	W/(m·K)		Green tickY
Thermal diffusivity	Template:Mvar	m2/s		Green tickY
Thermal expansion (linear)	Template:Mvar	K−1		Green tickY
Thermal expansion (area)	Template:Mvar	K−1		Green tickY
Thermal expansion (volumetric)	Template:Mvar	K−1		Green tickY
Vapor quality	Template:Mvar	Template:Spaced ndash		Green tickY
Volume	Template:Mvar	m3	Green tickY		Pressure Template:Mvar
Specific volume	Template:Mvar	m3/kg		Green tickY

See also

• Conjugate variables
• Dimensionless numbers
• Intensive and extensive properties
• Thermodynamic databases for pure substances
• Thermodynamic variable