Status of the Clausius inequality in classical thermodynamics

2013/09/27 by A. V. Gavrilov, Gavrilov, A. V.
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Classical Physics (physics.class-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) #Statistical Mechanics and Entropy

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1309.7191

openalex publication_date 2013/09/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We present an analysis of the foundations of the well known Clausius inequality. It is shown that, strictly speaking, the inequality is not a logical consequence of the Kelvin-Planck formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. Some thought experiments demonstrating the violation of the Clausius inequality are considered. Also, a reformulation of the Landauer's principle in terms of the Clausius inequality is proposed. This version of the inequality may be considered a consequence of the fluctuation theorem.

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