The discussion revolves around the concept of entropy in the context of reversible and irreversible thermodynamic cycles. Participants explore the implications of entropy as a state function and its behavior in different types of cycles.
The discussion is ongoing, with participants sharing their thoughts and clarifying concepts. Some guidance has been offered regarding the integral of dQ/T for calculating entropy change, but multiple interpretations and questions remain without explicit consensus.
Participants reference the second law of thermodynamics and the behavior of isolated systems, indicating that assumptions about interactions with surroundings are being examined.
Yes. The change in entropy of a system is the integral of dQ/T on a reversible path between two states. If there is no change in the state of the system, there can be no change in entropy. The difference between reversible and irreversible processes is in the entropy change of the surroundings.corona7w said:I am confused about the entropy change for reversible and irreversible cycles. I know entropy is a state function, so for cycles, the entropy change within the system should be 0, since the process ends up in the same state as the beginning. So does this mean that the entropy change for the system is 0 for both reversible and irreversible cycles?
Of course. But it will necessarily end up in a different state.lanedance said:but Andrew wouldn't you say the entropy of an isolated system can increase without interacting with its surroundings... (basically 2nd law of thermo)