Uma definição natural de energia cinética e potencial em termodinâmica

In an attempt to make the teaching of thermodynamics more familiar and without violating its formalism, we define from the expression of the energy differential, in which the consequences of the the 2nd law was already incorporated, the differential of the kinetic energy as associated to the temperature variations at constant volume and the differential of the potential energy to those at constant temperature. Comparison between the two differentials is accomplished through the normalization of the temperature and volume variations to a common pressure variation. It will be seen that in the gaseous phase the kinetic part greatly exceeds the potential one but that in the condensed phase they are of the same order of magnitude.