Path Dependence

State Functions vs Path Dependent Functions

In thermodynamics, scientists distinguish between what are called state functions vs path functions. State functions are properties of a system whose values do not depend on how they were arrived at from a prior state of the system. They depend only on the starting and ending states of the system. On the other hand, path functions can take on very different values depending on the path by which the system arrived at a state from its previous state. (more…)