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Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics research at NIST helps our industrial and scientific partners develop more efficient and reliable processes by improving our understanding of how the arrangement of matter and energy impact the properties of physical and chemical systems.

Thermodynamic Data Included in Phase-Based Data Repository

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An essential part of the MGI is the development of phase-based data repository. Phase-based data are important for many applications, including the development of CALPHAD-based multicomponent databases. The phase-based data include zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional data. Examples of some of the phase-data included are phase transformation temperatures (e.g. melting, solidus, solvus), lattice parameters, thermal expansion, elastic constants, and diffusion coefficients and compositions profiles. These data are reported as functions of composition, temperature and/or pressure.

This repository consists of three data sources:

  • Curated experimental and computational multicomponent alloy data in support of the development Co-based superalloys. Currently the data are focus on diffusion data and transition temperatures. These data are curated using the NIST Materials Data Curation System. This collection is being developed in conjunction with CHiMaD.
  • Thermodynamic Research Center Data provides access to thermophysical property data with a focus on unary, binary, and ternary metal systems through a free online web application and associated API. All data are from original experimental publications and include full provenance and critically evaluated uncertainty.
  • Self diffusion and impurity diffusion coefficient data (experimental and computational) are searchable via the periodic table.

News and Updates

A Physicist and Steampunk Enthusiast Explores Thermodynamics in the Quantum World

“Energy is eternal delight.” --William Blake Snuggling with her parents and brother while watching one of her favorite TV programs, Nicole Yunger Halpern was only 10 when she got her first taste of punk. She didn’t start listening to the Sex Pistols or sculpt her hair into spikes. But the program she watched, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., about a 19th-century bounty hunter who encounters

The Big Quantum Chill: NIST Scientists Modify Common Lab Refrigerator to Cool Faster With Less Energy

Spotlight: The Real-World Applications of Quantum With Julia Scherschligt

NIST Team Demonstrates Novel Way to Convert Heat to Electricity

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