Related papers: On the Second Law of thermodynamics and the piston…
We consider the evolution of a system composed of $N$ non-interacting point particles of mass $m$ in a cylindrical container divided into two regions by a movable adiabatic wall (the adiabatic piston). We study the thermodynamic limit for…
A detailed analysis of the adiabatic-piston problem reveals peculiar dynamical features that challenge the general belief that isolated systems necessarily reach a static equilibrium state. In particular, the fact that the piston behaves…
We consider a one-dimensional system consisting of two infinite ideal fluids, with equal pressures but different temperatures T_1 and T_2, separated by an adiabatic movable piston whose mass M is much larger than the mass m of the fluid…
The adiabatic piston problem is solved at the mesoscale using a Kinetic Theory approach. The problem is to determine the evolution towards equilibrium of two gases separated by a wall with only one degree of freedom (the adiabatic piston).…
A simplified version of a classical problem in thermodynamics -- the adiabatic piston -- is discussed in the framework of kinetic theory. We consider the limit of gases whose relaxation time is extremely fast so that the gases contained on…
The limits of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which reigns undisputed in the macroscopic world, are investigated at the mesoscopic level, corresponding to spatial dimensions of a few microns. An extremely simple isolated system, modeled…
We consider a heavy piston in an infinite cylinder surrounded by ideal gases on both sides. The piston moves under elastic collisions with gas atoms. We assume here that the gases always exert equal pressures on the piston, hence the piston…
We investigate the evolution of a system composed of $N$ non-interacting point particles of mass $m$ in a container divided into two chambers by a movable adiabatic piston of mass $M\gg m$. Using a two-time-scale perturbation approach in…
We consider the evolution of a system composed of $N$ non-interacting point particles of mass $m$ in a container divided in two regions by a movable adiabatic wall (adiabatic piston). In this talk we discuss the thermodynamic limit where…
Statistical mechanics descriptions of the second law of thermodynamics generally imply point-like particles driven by a dissipative overall mechanism for their simultaneous time-evolution. As the number of involved particles grows larger,…
We study numerically and theoretically (on a heuristic level) the time evolution of a gas confined to a cube of size $L^3$ divided into two parts by a piston with mass $M_L \sim L^2$ which can only move in the $x$-direction. Starting with a…
In this paper a one-dimensional model of two infinite gases separated by a movable heavy piston is considered. The non-linear Langevin equation for the motion of the piston is derived from first principles for the case when the…
The equilibrium conditions of a system consisting of a box with gas divided by a piston are revised. The apparent indetermination of the problem is solved by explicitly imposing the constancy of the internal energy when the Entropy Maximum…
A scheme for treating the Second Law of thermodynamics as a constraint and accounting for the approximate nature of constitutive assumptions in continuum thermomechanics is discussed. An unconstrained, concave, variational principle is…
In the scientific and engineering literature, the second law of thermodynamics is expressed in terms of the behavior of entropy in reversible and irreversible processes. According to the prevailing statistical mechanics interpretation the…
We study a dynamical system consisting of a massive piston in a cubical container of large size $L$ filled with an ideal gas. The piston has mass $M\sim L^2$ and undergoes elastic collisions with $N\sim L^3$ non-interacting gas particles of…
We consider a Szilard engine in one dimension, consisting of a single particle of mass $m$, moving between a piston of mass $M$, and a heat reservoir at temperature $T$. In addition to an external force, the piston experiences repeated…
All presently available results lead to the conclusion that nonextensivity, in the sense of nonextensive statistical mechanics (i.e., $q \ne 1$), does {\it not} modify anything to the second principle of thermodynamics, which therefore…
Equilibrium statistics of Hamiltonian systems is correctly described by the microcanonical ensemble, whereas canonical ones fail in the most interesting, mostly inhomogeneous, situations like phase separations or away from the thermodynamic…
Boltzmann's principle S=k ln W allows to extend equilibrium thermo-statistics to ``Small'' systems without invoking the thermodynamic limit. The clue is to base statistical probability on ensemble averaging and not on time averaging. It is…