English

Are all Quasi-static Processes Reversible?

Chemical Physics 2009-11-30 v1 Statistical Mechanics

Abstract

A process, carried out in a stepwise manner, becomes quasi-static when the number of intermediate steps tends to infinity. Usually, the net entropy production approaches zero under this limiting condition. Hence, such cases are termed reversible. A favorite example is the introduction of an infinite number of intermediate-temperature reservoirs in between the source and the sink for a non-isothermal heat transfer process. We analyze the situation and conclude that such quasi-static processes are not reversible. Indeed, no non-isothermal heat transfer process can ever be made reversible due to an extraneous work term.

Cite

@article{arxiv.0911.5010,
  title  = {Are all Quasi-static Processes Reversible?},
  author = {Debasis Mukhopadhyay and Kamal Bhattacharyya},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0911.5010},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

11 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-21T14:16:18.267Z