English

Steady State of a Dissipative Flow-Controlled System and the Maximum Entropy Production Principle

Classical Physics 2015-05-13 v4 Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics Biological Physics Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

A theory to predict the steady state position of a dissipative, flow-controlled system, as defined by a control volume, is developed based on the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) principle of Jaynes, involving minimisation of a generalised free energy-like potential. The analysis provides a theoretical justification of a local, conditional form of the Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) principle, which successfully predicts the observable properties of many such systems. The analysis reveals a very different manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics in steady state flow systems, which {provides a driving force for} the formation of complex systems, including life.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0902.1568,
  title  = {Steady State of a Dissipative Flow-Controlled System and the Maximum Entropy Production Principle},
  author = {Robert K. Niven},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0902.1568},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

18 pages; 2 figures; accepted by Physical Review E