process function

Property of a thermodynamic process; depends on the historical path of system states, not just on the current system state

EntityQ900800

Also known as path function · process quantity · thermodynamic process function

Subclass of: physical property

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

In thermodynamics, a quantity that is well defined so as to describe the path of a process through the equilibrium state space of a thermodynamic system is termed a process function, or, alternatively, a process quantity, or a path function. As an example, mechanical work and heat are process functions because they describe quantitatively the transition between equilibrium states of a thermodynamic system.

Overview

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5 statements · 40% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Opposite of: state function

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4 identifiers linking process function across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

40%

externally sourced

Source last edited January 21, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). process function (Q900800). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/process-function-Q900800