Published October 2010 | Version v1
Journal article

The many faces of the second law

  • 1. University of Hasselt, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium)

Description

There exists no perpetuum mobile of the second kind. We review the implications of this observation on the second law, on the efficiency of thermal machines, on Onsager symmetry, on Brownian motors and Brownian refrigerators, and on the universality of efficiency of thermal machines at maximum power. We derive a microscopic expression for the stochastic entropy production, and obtain from it the detailed and integral fluctuation theorem. We close with the remarkable observation that the second law can be split in two: the total entropy production is the sum of two contributions each of which is growing independently in time

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-5468/2010/10/P10009

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1088/1742-5468/2010/10/P10009;
PII
S1742-5468(10)68985-6;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Journal of Statistical Mechanics
Journal Volume
2010
Journal Issue
10
Journal Page Range
[22 p.]
ISSN
1742-5468

INIS

Country of Publication
United Kingdom
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
46004288
Subject category
S71: CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS;
Descriptors DEI
BROWNIAN MOVEMENT; EFFICIENCY; ENTROPY; FLUCTUATIONS; INTEGRALS; ONSAGER RELATIONS; STOCHASTIC PROCESSES; SYMMETRY; THERMODYNAMICS
Descriptors DEC
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES; VARIATIONS