On the Validity of the Assumption of Local Equilibrium in Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics

Arieh Ben-Naim

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arXiv · 1803.03398

On the Validity of the Assumption of Local Equilibrium in Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics

Arieh Ben-Naim

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Abstract

The extension of equilibrium thermodynamics to non-equilibrium systems is based on the assumption of "local equilibrium," followed by the assumption that an entropy-density function may be defined, and that this entropy-density would have the same functional dependence on the local densities, (u,v,n), as the total entropy S on the variables (U,V,N). In this article we question the validity of all the assumptions made in the theory of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. We find that the assumption of "local equilibrium" is ill-founded, that it is not clear how to define an entropy-density function, and it is far from clear that such a function, if it exists at all could be integrated to obtain the so-called "entropy production" of the entire system. These findings shed serious doubt on the validity of applying thermodynamic theory to systems far from equilibrium systems.

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Arieh Ben-Naim. 2018-03-09. On the Validity of the Assumption of Local Equilibrium in Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics. https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.03398

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