1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910595044703321

Autore

Di Vita Andrea

Titolo

Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics / / by Andrea Di Vita

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2022

ISBN

9783031122217

9783031122200

Edizione

[1st ed. 2022.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (239 pages)

Collana

Lecture Notes in Physics, , 1616-6361 ; ; 1007

Disciplina

536.7

Soggetti

Physics

Thermodynamics

System theory

Statistical physics

Classical and Continuum Physics

Complex Systems

Statistical Physics

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Looking for the Holy Grail? -- Thermodynamic equilibrium -- Local thermodynamic equilibrium -- Linear non-equilibrium thermodynamics -- Beyond linear non-equilibrium thermodynamics.

Sommario/riassunto

The importance of thermodynamics, particularly its Second Principle, to all branches of science in which systems with very large numbers of particles are involved cannot be overstated. This book offers a panoramic view of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Perhaps the two most attractive aspects of thermodynamic equilibrium are its stability and its independence from the specifics of the particular system involved. Does an equivalent exist for non-equilibrium thermodynamics? Many researchers have tried to describe such stability in the same way that the Second Principle describes the stability of thermodynamic equilibrium - and failed. Most of them invoked either entropy, or its production rate, or some modified version of it. In their efforts, however, those researchers have found a lot of useful stability criteria for far-from-equilibrium states. These criteria usually take the



form of variational principles, in terms of the minimization or maximization of some quantity. The aimof this book is to discuss these variational principles by highlighting the role of macroscopic quantities. This book is aimed at a wider audience than those most often exposed to the criteria described, i.e., undergraduates in STEM, as well as the usual interested and invested professionals.