ABSTRACT
Thermodynamics operates with thermodynamic potentials or functions of state, whose infinitesimal increment is a total differential of these parameters. In the state of thermodynamic equilibrium, the thermodynamic potential(s) of a system is(are) minimum with respect to its(their) values for other possible states of the system. This chapter considers thermodynamic potentials appropriate for specimens of magnetizing non-superconducting materials in static magnetic fields of different orientation. It shows that the specimen magnetic energy and therefore the work done to magnetize the diamagnetic specimen of the cylindrical geometry equals the change of kinetic energy of its electrons. Application of the magnetic field changes energy of a system and re requires a work done by an external agency. The magnetic component of the diamagnetic specimen in the uniform applied field represents a system of identical induced magnetic moments of its N molecules.
