Related papers: Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale syst…
This paper shows how mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics can be applied to condensation and evaporation. By extending the normal set of thermodynamic variables with two internal variables, we are able to give a new theoretical…
For macroscopic systems, the second law of thermodynamics establishes an inequality between the amount of work performed on a system in contact with a thermal reservoir, and the change in its free energy. For microscopic systems, this…
The thermodynamic approach to non-equilibrium dynamics describes the state of macroscopic systems by means of a collection of intensities or intensive variables. The latter are by definition the differentials of the entropy with respect to…
Concepts of everyday use like energy, heat, and temperature have acquired a precise meaning after the development of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics provides the basis for understanding how heat and work are related and with the general…
This thesis is devoted to the theoretical study of slow thermodynamic processes in non-equilibrium stochastic systems. Its main result is a physically and mathematically consistent construction of relevant thermodynamic quantities in the…
Nonequilibrium thermodynamics has shown its applicability in a wide variety of different situations pertaining to fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. As successful as it is, however, its current formulation…
The interactions of tiny objects with their environment are dominated by thermal fluctuations. Guided by theory and assisted by micromanipulation tools, scientists have begun to study such interactions in detail.
Thermodynamics makes definite predictions about the thermal behavior of macroscopic systems in and out of equilibrium. Statistical mechanics aims to derive this behavior from the dynamics and statistics of the atoms and molecules making up…
To describe the nonequilibrium states of a system we introduce a new thermodynamic parameter - the lifetime of a system. The statistical distributions which can be obtained out of the mesoscopic description characterizing the behaviour of a…
Non-equilibrium states of a thermodynamic statistical system are investigated using the thermodynamic parameter of the system lifetime, first-passage time, the time before degeneration of the system under influence of fluctuations.…
It is shown that a small system in thermodynamic equilibrium with a finite thermostat can have a q-exponential probability distribution which closely depends on the energy nonextensivity and the particle number of the thermostat. The…
A thermodynamics for systems at a stationary states is formulated. It is based upon the assumption of the existence of local equilibrium in phase space which enables one to interpret the probability density ans its conjugated nonequilibrium…
In equilibrium systems with short-ranged interactions, the relative stability of different thermodynamic states generally does not depend on system size (as long as this size is larger than the interaction range). Here, we use a large…
Thermodynamic principles are often deceptively simple and yet surprisingly powerful. We show how a simple rule, such as the net flow of energy in and out of a moving atom under nonequilibrium steady state condition, can expose the…
Thermodynamic relations are derived from first principles of mechanics for non-equilibrium processes. Since the key role herein is played by the law of increase of entropy, the latter is analyzed at first. It is shown that its derivation…
Fluctuation theorems are fundamental extensions of the second law of thermodynamics for small nonequilibrium systems. While work and heat are equally important forms of energy exchange, fluctuation relations have not been experimentally…
The past twenty years have seen a resurgence of interest in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, thanks to advances in the theory of stochastic processes and in their thermodynamic interpretation. Fluctuation theorems provide fundamental…
A variant of continuous nonequilibrium thermodynamic theory based on the postulate of the scale invariance of the local relation between generalized fluxes and forces has been proposed. This single postulate replaces the assumptions on…
A principle on the macroscopic motion of systems in thermodynamic equilibrium, rarely discussed in texts, is reviewed: Very small but still macroscopic parts of a fully isolated system in thermal equilibrium move as if points of a rigid…
Building on the recent solution for the spectrum of the non-commutative well in two dimensions, the thermodynamics that follows from it is computed. In particular the focus is put on an ideal fermion gas confined to such a well. At low…