1 Introduction 1.1 Basic concepts 1.1.1 State function versus path function 1.1.2 Intensive property versus extensive property 1.2 Brief review of thermodynamics 1.2.1 The fi rst law of thermodynamics 1.2.2 The second law of thermodynamics 1.3 The fundamental equation of thermodynamics 1.4 The calculus of thermodynamics 1.....