The Lieb-Yngvason theory of thermodynamics
The Lieb-Yngvason theory of thermodynamics
- Event time: 11:30am until 12:30pm
- Event date: 30th January 2019
- Speaker: Emil Mallmin (Formerly School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
- Location: Room 2511, James Clerk Maxwell Building (JCMB) James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD GB
Event details
The structure of thermodynamics follows from the existence of an extensive, additive, and concave entropy function. Yet despite the centrality of entropy in the theory, it is often introduced in a roundabout way via heat engines, or by invoking notions from statistical mechanics. Attempts during the during the 20thcentury to formulate a conceptually self-contained and mathematically rigorous version of thermodynamics culminated in the work of Lieb and Yngvason in 1999. They show that a certain physically intuitive notion of ‘adiabatic accessibility’ is mathematically equivalent to the existence of a unique entropy function with the desired properties. This modern understanding of thermodynamics is also relevant to understanding why nonequilibrium physics cannot be similarly encapsulated by an entropy principle. I will introduce this theory to the audience.
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