Title: Thermodynamic Entropy and Its Relation to Probability in Classical Mechanics
Abstract:A gas relaxing into equilibrium is often taken to be a process in which a system moves from an “improbable” to a “probable” state. Given that the thermodynamic entropy increases during such a process,...A gas relaxing into equilibrium is often taken to be a process in which a system moves from an “improbable” to a “probable” state. Given that the thermodynamic entropy increases during such a process, it is natural to conjecture that the thermodynamic entropy is a measure of the probability of a macrostate. For nonideal classical gases, however, I claim that there is no clear sense in which the thermodynamic entropy of a macrostate measures its probability. We must therefore reject the idea that (in classical mechanics) thermodynamic entropy and probability are connected in a deep and general way.Read More
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-12-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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