Related papers: Utility maximizing entropy and the second law of t…
I use cosmology examples to illustrate that the second law of thermodynamics is not old and tired, but alive and kicking, continuing to stimulate interesting research on really big puzzles. The question "Why is the entropy so low?" (despite…
Internal energy, enthalpy and entropy are the key quantities to study thermodynamic properties of the moist atmosphere, because they correspond to the First (internal energy and enthalpy) and Second (entropy) Laws of thermodynamics. The aim…
In black hole physics, the second law of thermodynamics is generally valid whether the black hole is a static or a non-static one. Considering the universe as a thermodynamical system the second law of black hole dynamics extends to the…
The application of principles of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics to economic systems is considered in a broad historical perspective, extending from prehistoric times to the present day. The hypothesis of maximum entropy production…
A version of the second law of thermodynamics states that one cannot lower the energy of an isolated system by a cyclic operation. We prove this law without introducing statistical ensembles and by resorting only to quantum mechanics. We…
We seek here to unify the second law of thermodynamics with the other laws, or at least to put up a law behind the second law of thermodynamics. Assuming no fine tuning, concretely by a random Hamiltonian, we argue just from equations of…
The entropy of classical thermodynamics is uniquely determined by the relation of adiabatical accessibilty between equilibrium states of thermodynamical systems. This review outlines the logical path leading to this results and the…
The second law of thermodynamics uses change in free energy of macroscopic systems to set a bound on performed work. Ergotropy plays a similar role in microscopic scenarios, and is defined as the maximum amount of energy that can be…
We conjecture a universal upper bound to the entropy of a rotating system. The entropy bound follows from application of the generalized second law of thermodynamics to an idealized gedanken experiment in which an entropy-bearing rotating…
Entropy production is the crucial quantity characterizing irreversible phenomena and the second law of thermodynamics. Yet, a ubiquitous definition eludes consensus. Given that entropy production arises from incomplete access to…
In a previous work (M. Campisi. Stud. Hist. Phil. M. P. 36 (2005) 275-290) we have addressed the mechanical foundations of equilibrium thermodynamics on the basis of the Generalized Helmholtz Theorem. It was found that the volume entropy…
The concept of negative temperature has recently received renewed interest in the context of debates about the correct definition of the thermodynamic entropy in statistical mechanics. Several researchers have identified the thermodynamic…
From thermodynamics point of view, in this era of aiming at energy conservation and sustainability, we need to develop more accurate ways to design thermal power, cooling and heat pump cycles. It has been the general practice in…
The notion of utility maximising entropy (u-entropy) of a probability density, which was introduced and studied by Slomczynski and Zastawniak (Ann. Prob 32 (2004) 2261-2285, arXiv:math.PR/0410115 v1), is extended in two directions. First,…
We show that the zeroth law of thermodynamics holds within an alternative version of nonextensive statistical mechanics based on {\it incomplete probability distribution}. The generalized zeroth law leads to a generalized definition of…
It is established that black holes have entropy and behave as thermodynamical systems. Associating entropy to gravitational fields has not remained limited to black holes, necessitating the notion of the second law of thermodynamics in…
The possibility of stating the second law of thermodynamics in terms of the increasing behaviour of a physical property establishes a connection between that branch of physics and the theory of algebraic inequalities. We use this connection…
In an abstract setting of a general classical mechanical system as a model for the universe we set up a general formalism for a law behind the second law of thermodynamics, i.e. really for "initial conditions". We propose a unification with…
It is a common belief that in any environment where life is possible, life will be generated. Here it is suggested that the cause for a spontaneous generation of complex systems is probability driven processes. Based on equilibrium…
Thermodynamics allows the application of Statistical Mechanics to finite and even small systems. As surface effects cannot be scaled away, one has to be careful with the standard arguments of splitting a system into two or bringing two…