System

A thermodynamic system is defined as a definite quantity of matter or a region in space upon which attention is focussed in the analysis of a problem. We may want to study a quantity of matter contained with in a closed rigid walled chambers, or we may want to consider something such as gas pipeline through which the matter flows. The composition of the matter inside the system may be fixed or may change through chemical and nuclear reactions. A system may be arbitrarily defined. It becomes important when exchange of energy between the system and the everything else outside the system is considered. The judgement on the energetics of this exchange is very important.

Surroundings

Everything external to the system is surroundings. The system is distinguished from its surroundings by a specified boundary which may be at rest or in motion. The interactions between a system and its surroundings, which take place across the boundary, play an important role in thermodynamics. A system and its surroundings together comprise a universe.