Reaching equilibrium: the role of dissipation in analogous systems, within a thermodynamic-like perspective

Isomorphic problems play an acknowledged pedagogical role in the physics teaching/learning process. In this context, we describe a unified approach to a wide class of physical systems formally analogous to the well-known 'two-capacitor system'. The proposed learning path, specifically addressed to university students, provides the opportunity to introduce a unitary graphical representation that is very suitable to describe the system energy evolution, as well as allowing the highlighting of the mutually exclusive roles of dissipation and reversibility when the system approaches its equilibrium conditions (where 'equilibrium' must be interpreted in its most general meaning, either as 'static equilibrium' or as 'steady state'). Moreover, a new quantitative modeling is introduced for two representative systems, in order to show that the energy 'missed' during the equilibrium achievement is just equal to the negative work an external agent should make to let the system reach its final state quasi-statically and reversibly. (paper)