Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
We compare the reversibility of the Carnot cycle to the irreversibility of the Stirling cycle and find that they may be accounted for by the constancy or increase of transferred heat divided by temperature. We then consider how conservation laws, including the fundamental laws of mechanics, cannot account for the irreversibility of a system.
Note on the definition of a "closed system." I am using the term "closed system" in the sense of the following definition from Thermal Physics by Charles Kittel: "A closed system is defined as a system with constant energy, constant number of particles, and constant volume." Another term for such a system is "isolated system," in which case "closed system" may refer to a system that has a constant number of particles but can exchange energy with its surroundings.
We compare the reversibility of the Carnot cycle to the irreversibility of the Stirling cycle and find that they may be accounted for by the constancy or increase of transferred heat divided by temperature. We then consider how conservation laws, including the fundamental laws of mechanics, cannot account for the irreversibility of a system.
Note on the definition of a "closed system." I am using the term "closed system" in the sense of the following definition from Thermal Physics by Charles Kittel: "A closed system is defined as a system with constant energy, constant number of particles, and constant volume." Another term for such a system is "isolated system," in which case "closed system" may refer to a system that has a constant number of particles but can exchange energy with its surroundings.
