2009/11/26 by Debasis Mukhopadhyay, Mukhopadhyay, Debasis, Kamal Bhattacharyya +1
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Heat Transfer and Optimization #Phase Equilibria and Thermodynamics #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) #cond-mat.stat-mech #physics.chem-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0911.5010
11 pages
arxiv created 2009/11/26 · openalex publication_date 2009/11/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A process, carried out in a stepwise manner, becomes quasi-static when the number of intermediate steps tends to infinity. Usually, the net entropy production approaches zero under this limiting condition. Hence, such cases are termed reversible. A favorite example is the introduction of an infinite number of intermediate-temperature reservoirs in between the source and the sink for a non-isothermal heat transfer process. We analyze the situation and conclude that such quasi-static processes are not reversible. Indeed, no non-isothermal heat transfer process can ever be made reversible due to an extraneous work term.