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In this work we present a general method, commonly applied to the numerical analysis of stochastic models, to interpolate AC-DC differences (usually denoted by the greek letter $\delta$) between calibration points in thermal transfer…
Various types of equilibrium processes involve electric fields. In some cases, the electrical energy appears to be negative (e.g. if the voltage is fixed by an external source). This paper explains how to derive the correct thermo-dynamic…
Even after nearly a century of discovery of superconductivity, there has been no direct experimental proof of the expected zero resistance of superconductors. Indeed, it has been believed that it is impossible to experimentally show that…
The fundamental issue in the energetic performance of power plants, working both as traditional fuel engines and as combined cycle turbine (gas-steam), lies in quantifying the internal irreversibilities which are associated with the working…
Low-dimensional electronic systems in thermoelectrics have the potential to achieve high thermal-to-electric energy conversion efficiency. A key measure of performance is the efficiency when the device is operated under maximum power…
The devices coil and transformer are subjects of interest in numerous schoolbooks, in introductory scientific textbooks of physics and engineering, and in laboratory courses at universities. Many descriptions, however, draw a somewhat…
In this paper, we derive a number of inequalities which express power-efficiency trade-offs that hold generally for thermodynamic machines operating in non-equilibrium stationary states. One of these inequalities concerns the output power,…
Continuous particle exchange thermal machines require no time-dependent driving, can be realised in solid-state electronic devices, and miniaturised to nanometre scale. Quantum dots, providing a narrow energy filter and allowing to…
The second law of thermodynamics tells us which state transformations are so statistically unlikely that they are effectively forbidden. Its original formulation, due to Clausius, states that "Heat can never pass from a colder to a warmer…
The efficiency and cooling power of a two-terminal thermoelectric refrigerator are analyzed near the limit of vanishing dissipation (ideal system), where the optimal efficiency is the Carnot one, but the cooling power then unfortunately…
Power converters inherently display non-linear load characteristics, resulting in a high level of mains harmonics, and hence the necessity of implementing Power Factor Correction (PFC). Active PFC circuitry typically comprises an inductor…
Phase transitions impose topological constraints on thermodynamic state variables, masking energetic fluctuations at the phase boundary. This constraint is most apparent in melting systems, where temperature remains pinned despite continued…
Thermodynamics is traditionally constrained to the study of macroscopic systems whose energy fluctuations are negligible compared to their average energy. Here, we push beyond this thermodynamic limit by developing a mathematical framework…
Conventional boost converters are essential to connect low-voltage energy source such as battery with high voltage DC bus in Electric Vehicles due to its simple construction and high conversion efficiency. However, large output capacitor…
In this paper, we introduce a real symmetric and positive semi-definite matrix, which we call the non-equilibrium conductance matrix, and which generalizes the Onsager response matrix for a system in a non-equilibrium stationary state. We…
Negative differential conductance (NDC) is expected to be an essential property to realize fast switching in future electronic devices. We here present a thorough analysis on electron transportability of a simple atomic-scale model…
Starting with Carnot engine, the ideal efficiency of a heat engine has been associated with quasi-static transformations and vanishingly small output power. Here, we exactly calculate the thermodynamic properties of a isothermal heat…
The energy conversion efficiency of far-from-equilibrium systems is generally limited by irreversible thermodynamic fluxes that make contact with different heat baths. For complex systems, the states of the maximum efficiency and the…
The thermodynamic properties of superconducting electrons are usually studied by means of the quasi-particles distribution; but in this approach, the ground state energy and the dependence of the chemical potential on the electron density…
Optimal control is ubiquitous in many fields of engineering. A common technique to find candidate solutions is via Pontryagin's maximum principle. An unfortunate aspect of this method is that the dimension of system doubles. When the system…