Thermodynamic analysis based on the second-order variations of thermodynamic potentials

An analysis of the Gibbs conditions of stable thermodynamic equilibrium, based on the constrained minimization of the four fundamental thermodynamic potentials, is presented with a particular attention given to the previously unexplored connections between the second order variations of thermodynamic potentials. These connections are used to establish the convexity properties of all potentials in relation to each other, which systematically deliver thermodynamic relationships between the specific heats, and the isentropic and isothermal bulk moduli and compressibilities. The comparison with the classical derivation is then given.