I recognize that there are many different views on the 3rd law.
Specifically S does not always go to zero as T->0. However, I thought
one could safely say it approaches a constant (often called the
residual entropy) with zero slope, ie dS/dT->0 as T->0 (technically
it's a partial derivative with N,V,B,etc held constant). Apparently I
must be wrong about that however. Consider an ideal fermi gas. It has
C linearly proportional to T at low T. Then dS/dT=C/T=nonzero
constant as T->0.
Do others agree with my analysis or am I missing some key idea? -Carl
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Carl E Mungan, Assoc Prof of Physics 410-293-6680 (O) -3729 (F)
Naval Academy Stop 9c, 572C Holloway Rd, Annapolis MD 21402-1363 mailto:mungan@usna.eduhttp://usna.edu/Users/physics/mungan/