Ideals are simple and able to be easily understood, but never exist in reality. In this book a theory based on the second law of thermodynamics and its applications are described. In thermodynamics there is a concept of an ideal gas which satisfies a mathematical formula PV = RT. This formula can appro- mately be applied to the real gas, so far as the gas has not an especially high pressure and low temperature. In connection with the second law of thermo- namics there is also a concept of reversible and irreversible processes. The reversible process is a phenomenon proceeding at an infinitely low velocity, while the irreversible process is that proceeding with a finite velocity. Such a process with an infinitely slow velocity can really never take place, and all processes observed are always irreversible, therefore, the reversible process is an ideal process, while the irreversible process is a real process. According to the first law of thermodynamics the energy increase dU of the thermodynamic system is a sum of the heat dQ added to the system and work dW done in the system. Practically, however, the mathematical formula of the law is often expressed by the equation , or some similar equations derived from this formula, is applied to many phenomena. Such formulae are, however, th- retically only applicable to phenomena proceeding at an infinitely low velocity, that is, reversible processes or ideal processes.

This book provides a comprehensive and self-contained overview of recent progress in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, in particular, the discovery of fluctuation relations and other time-reversal symmetry relations. The significance of these advances is that nonequilibrium statistical physics is no longer restricted to the linear regimes close to equilibrium, but extends to fully nonlinear regimes. These important new results have inspired the development of a unifying framework for describing both the microscopic dynamics of collections of particles, and the macroscopic hydrodynamics and thermodynamics of matter itself. The book discusses the significance of this theoretical framework in relation to a broad range of nonequilibrium processes, from the nanoscale to the macroscale, and is essential reading for researchers and graduate students in statistical physics, theoretical chemistry and biological physics.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Crete, Greece, July 14-24, 1985

This book enables the reader to learn, in a single volume, equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics as well as generalized forms of hydrodynamics for linear and nonlinear processes applied to various hydrodynamic flow processes — including chemical oscillation phenomena and pattern formations, shock wave phenomena, sound wave propagations, and Liesegang pattern formation, amongst others.Chemical Thermodynamics introduces advanced undergraduate students and graduate students to the fundamental ideas and notions of the first and second laws of thermodynamics by seamlessly combining equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics in a unicameral viewpoint based on the first and second law of thermodynamics. Part I of the book discusses equilibrium thermodynamics in historical deference, covering topics generally dealt with in traditional equilibrium thermodynamics. In Part II, the concept of entropy for reversible processes is extended and developed for thermodynamics of irreversible processes by using the concept of calortropy (heat evolution), so that the mathematical theory of macroscopic processes in matter, including a generalized form of hydrodynamics, is ensured to remain consistent with the thermodynamic laws.

Extensively revised edition of a much-respected work examines thermodynamics of irreversible processes, general principles of statistical thermodynamics, assemblies of noninteracting structureless particles, and statistical theory. 1966 edition.

Vols. 2 and 5 include appendices.

A collection of essays discussing the philosophy and foundations of quantum gravity. Written by leading philosophers and physicists in the field, chapters cover the important conceptual questions in the search for a quantum theory of gravity, and the current state of understanding among philosophers and physicists.