Accession Number:

AD0607377

Title:

ON THE SIGNS OF ONSAGER'S RECIPROCITY RELATIONS IN IRREVERSIBLE THERMODYNAMICS,

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

STANFORD UNIV CALIF DIV OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Personal Author(s):

• Gage,D. H.
• Kline,S. J.

Report Date:

1964-03-01

Pagination or Media Count:

13.0

Abstract:

The conventional presentation of Onsagers reciprocity relations specifies that the appropriate flows and forces used in the rate equations for irreversible, coupled processes are obtained from an arbitrary factorization of the entropy production expression. Closer examination shows that arbitrary selection of flows, or dependent quantities, in the rate equations leads to an ambiguity of sign in Onsagers relations. For a system with n independent, coupled, irreversible processes, a proof is given that only two of the possible 2 to the nth power sets of rate equations obtained by arbitrarily factoring the entropy production expression completely obey L SUB IJ L sub ji. The remaining 2 to the nth power - 2 possible sets of rate equations will have at least one pair of coefficients which will obey the antisymmetric relation L sub ij - L sub ji. Author

Descriptors:

• (*THERMODYNAMICS
• IRREVERSIBLE PROCESSES)
• (*IRREVERSIBLE PROCESSES
• EQUATIONS)
• ENTROPY
• DIFFUSION
• MATRICES(MATHEMATICS)

Subject Categories:

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE