Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale systems

Details Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale systems Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale systems

2005-12-13

arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0512268v1

Physics

Condensed Matter

Statistical Mechanics

7 pages

Scientific paper

Small thermodynamic systems exhibit peculiar behavior different from that observed in long-scale systems. Non-equilibrium processes taking place in those systems are strongly influenced by the presence of fluctuations which can be large. Contributions to the free energy which vanish at the infinite number of particles limit cannot be neglected and may exert an important influence on the dynamics. We show that in spite of these important differences, the method of non-equilibrium thermodynamics still applies when reducing the size of the system. By using this method, assumption of local equilibrium at the mesoscale thereby leads to the formulation of a mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics from which expressions for the non-equilibrium currents and kinetic equations for the probability density can be obtained.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale systems does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale systems, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of small-scale systems will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-36050