CHAPTER 1: Difference between equilibrium and steady state
STEADY STATE: When a system reaches a state where all the variables remain constant (no change in composition, temperature, pressure, etc).
EQUILIBRIUM: No net change in the system condition, there is no driving force at the macromolecular level.
What is the difference between equilibrium and steady state if in both the variables remain constant with time?
For example, imagine it is a cold day and you are heating soup in a pot. At the start, the soup is cold, when you turn on the stove, the soup begins to increase its temperature (T changes with time, so it is in an unsteady state) until reaching its boiling point, where the temperature remains constant, being so in a steady state (At this point, the surroundings are taking heat from the soup and the stove is replacing that lost energy). Finally you turn off the stove and leave. When you return the soup is at the same temperature as the surroundings, in equilibrium.
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Lienhard, J. Equilibrium vs. Steady State. Teaching and learning laboratory. 2013.
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References: Almanza, Y. Equilibrium Thermodynamics. ITESM CEM. México. 2016.