6
Reversible Processes Versus
Quasi-static Processes,
and the Condition of Internal
Reversibility
Abstract
A presupposition in the naturalistic sciences is that laws should be centered on a
natural object in itself without having to involve a man-made machine. That is
the legacy of Newtonian science of mechanical objects as mass bodies. A strong
movement in equilibrium thermodynamics initiated by Caratheodory has been
based on this presupposition. This disquisition rejects naturalistic presupposition
and the Caratheodory formalism by pointing out the unique nature of
thermodynamic objects as systems with essential design characteristics. This
chapter applies Prigogine’s modern formalism for the effective treatment of
system–surroundings interactions for a better understanding of thermodynamic
processes.
Keywords
Caratheodory formulation of the second law Á Quasi-static processes Á
Quasi-static heat and work Á Local thermodynamic equilibrium Á Brussels school
formalism Á Quasi-staticity versus internal reversibility versus reversibility Á
Nonreversible processes Á Reversible-like processes Á Joule free expansion
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L.-S. Wang, A Treatise of Heat and Energy, Mechanical Engineering Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05746-6_6
135
Reversible Processes Versus
Quasi-static Processes,
and the Condition of Internal
Reversibility
Abstract
A presupposition in the naturalistic sciences is that laws should be centered on a
natural object in itself without having to involve a man-made machine. That is
the legacy of Newtonian science of mechanical objects as mass bodies. A strong
movement in equilibrium thermodynamics initiated by Caratheodory has been
based on this presupposition. This disquisition rejects naturalistic presupposition
and the Caratheodory formalism by pointing out the unique nature of
thermodynamic objects as systems with essential design characteristics. This
chapter applies Prigogine’s modern formalism for the effective treatment of
system–surroundings interactions for a better understanding of thermodynamic
processes.
Keywords
Caratheodory formulation of the second law Á Quasi-static processes Á
Quasi-static heat and work Á Local thermodynamic equilibrium Á Brussels school
formalism Á Quasi-staticity versus internal reversibility versus reversibility Á
Nonreversible processes Á Reversible-like processes Á Joule free expansion
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L.-S. Wang, A Treatise of Heat and Energy, Mechanical Engineering Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05746-6_6
135