Third Law of Thermodynamics

[noun]

One of the three laws of Thermodynamics, or laws relating to heat power. The Third Law was developed between 1906 and 1912 by the chemist Walter Nernst and relates specifically to entropy. Nernst identifies that, within a perfect crystal, entropy corresponds to temperature. As the temperature reaches absolute zero, so does the entropy (absolute entropy). Though not physically possible (see the Second Law of Thermodynamics), this defines the mathematical limit of the universe and serves as a reference point for measuring entropy.