Definition 1.1. If two systems, A and B, are separately in equilibrium with a third system
C, then they are also in equilibrium with one another.
Remark 1.1. The zeroth law of thermodynamics describes the transitive nature of thermal
equilibrium.
Remark 1.2. Despite its apparent simplicity, the zeroth law has the consequence of implying
the existence of an important state function, the empirical temperature Θ, such that systems
in equilibrium are at the same temperature.
References
This is a derivative work from [1] a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
work
[1] MIT OpenCourseWare, 8.333 Statistical Mechanics I: statistical mechanics of Particles, Fall
2007
