Thermodynamics is a branch of natural science concerned with heat and its relation to energy and work. It defines macroscopic variables (such as temperature, internal energy, entropy, and pressure) that characterize materials and radiation, and explains how they are related and by what laws they change with time. Thermodynamics describes the average behavior of very large numbers of microscopic constituents, and its laws can be derived from statistical mechanics.
Toxicodendron is a genus of in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It contains woody , and , including poison ivy, poison oak, and the lacquer tree. All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ( toxikos), meaning "poison," and ( dendron), meaning "tree". ξ1 The best known members of the genus in North America are poison ivy (T. radicans), practically ubiquitous throughout most of eastern..
