Complete the account of what the zeroth law provides.
The zeroth law states that thermal equilibrium is ______, which means a single number can label every mutually equilibrated system. That number is the ______, and the third body used to compare two others is a ______. Without this law, two bodies each matching a third could still ______ with each other.
Word bank: transitive · temperature · thermometer · disagree · reversible
Hints
- The law concerns a relation between three systems.
- Its content is that the relation behaves like equality.
Show the answer
The zeroth law states that thermal equilibrium is transitive, which means a single number can label every mutually equilibrated system. That number is the temperature, and the third body used to compare two others is a thermometer. Without this law, two bodies each matching a third could still disagree with each other.
Transitivity is what makes temperature a well-defined property and a thermometer a valid instrument. It is an empirical fact rather than a logical necessity, nature did not have to behave this way.
Practise The Zeroth Law and Thermodynamic Coefficients
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