On thermodynamic processes, state equations and critical phenomena for homogeneous mixtures

Abstract

In this paper, we study the thermodynamics of homogeneous mixtures in equilibrium. From the perspective of thermodynamics, substances are understood as Legendre submanifolds, which are equipped with a Riemannian structure in addition. We refer to these as Legendre-Riemannian manifolds. This Legendre structure reflects the law of conservation of energy, while the Riemannian structure corresponds to the second central moment of measurement of extensive quantities, indicating that we only consider stable states. Thermodynamic processes, such as chemical reactions, correspond to contact vector fields that preserve the law of energy conservation, or are contact. The presence of a Riemannian structure distinguishes between three classes of processes: positive, which increase the metric; neutral, which preserve the metric; and negative, which decrease the metric. We provide a detailed description of the processes and suggest a method for finding state equations for a homogeneous mixture in mechanical or chemical equilibrium.