I wasn't able to do it in a conversation, so here it is:
FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
Suppose that we have a closed system that at initial time t
i
is in an initial equilibrium state, with internal energy U
i
, and at a later time t
f, it is in a new equilibrium
state with internal energy U
f. The transition from the
initial equilibrium state to the final equilibrium state is brought about
by imposing a time-dependent heat flow across the interface between the
system and the surroundings, and a time-dependent rate of doing work at
the interface between the system and the surroundings. Let \dot{q}<br />
<br />
(t) represent the rate of heat addition across the interface
between the system and the surroundings at time t, and let \dot{w}<br />
<br />
(t) represent the rate at which the system does work on the
surroundings at the interface at time t. According to the first law
(basically conservation of energy),
\Delta U=U_f-U_i=\int_{t_i}^{t_f}{(\dot{q}(t)-\dot{w}(t))dt}=Q-W<br />
<br />
where Q is the total amount of heat added and W is the total amount of
work done by the system on the surroundings at the interface.
The time variation of \dot{q}(t) and \dot{w}(t)<br />
<br /> between the initial and final states uniquely characterizes the
so-called process path. There are an infinite number of possible process
paths that can take the system from the initial to the final equilibrium
state. The only constraint is that Q-W must be the same for all of them.
If a process path is irreversible, then the temperature and pressure
within the system are inhomogeneous (i.e., non-uniform, varying with
spatial position), and one cannot define a unique pressure or temperature
for the system (except at the initial and the final equilibrium state).
However, the pressure and temperature
at the interface can be
measured and controlled using the surroundings to impose the temperature
and pressure boundary conditions that we desire. Thus, T
I(t)
and P
I(t) can be used to impose the process path that we
desire. Alternately, and even more fundamentally, we can directly
control, by well established methods, the rate of heat flow and the rate
of doing work at the interface \dot{q}(t) and \dot<br />
<br />
{w}(t)).
Both for reversible and irreversible process paths, the rate at
which the system does work on the surroundings is given by:
\dot{w}(t)=P_I(t)\dot{V}(t)
where \dot{V}(t) is the rate of change of system volume at
time t. However, if the process path is reversible, the pressure P
within the system is uniform, and
P_I(t)=P(t) (reversible process path)
Therefore, \dot{w}(t)=P(t)\dot{V}(t) (reversible process
path)
Another feature of reversible process paths is that they are carried out
very slowly, so that \dot{q}(t) and \dot{w}(t)
are both very close to zero over then entire process path. However, the
amount of time between the initial equilibrium state and the final
equilibrium state (t
f-t
i) becomes exceedingly
large. In this way, Q-W remains constant and finite.
SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
In the previous section, we focused on the infinite number of process
paths that are capable of taking a closed thermodynamic system from an
initial equilibrium state to a final equilibrium state. Each of these
process paths is uniquely determined by specifying the heat transfer
rate \dot{q}(t) and the rate of doing work \dot{w}(t)<br />
<br /> as functions of time at the interface between the system and the
surroundings. We noted that the cumulative amount of heat transfer and
the cumulative amount of work done over an entire process path are given
by the two integrals:
Q=\int_{t_i}^{t_f}{\dot{q}(t)dt}
W=\int_{t_i}^{t_f}{\dot{w}(t)dt}
In the present section, we will be introducing a third integral of this
type (involving the heat transfer rate \dot{q}(t)) to
provide a basis for establishing a precise mathematical statement of the
Second Law of Thermodynamics.
The discovery of the Second Law came about in the 19th century, and
involved contributions by many brilliant scientists. There have been
many statements of the Second Law over the years, couched in complicated
language and multi-word sentences, typically involving heat reservoirs,
Carnot engines, and the like. These statements have been a source of
unending confusion for students of thermodynamics for over a hundred
years. What has been sorely needed is a precise mathematical definition
of the Second Law that avoids all the complicated rhetoric. The sad part
about all this is that such a precise definition has existed all along.
The definition was formulated by Clausius back in the 1800's.
Clausius wondered what would happen if he evaluated the following
integral over each of the possible process paths between the initial and
final equilibrium states of a closed system:
I=\int_{t_i}^{t_f}{\frac{\dot{q}(t)}{T_I(t)}dt}
where T
I(t) is the temperature at the interface with the
surroundings at time t. He carried out extensive calculations on many
systems undergoing a variety of both reversible and irreversible paths
and discovered something astonishing. He found that, for any closed
system, the values calculated for the integral over all the possible
reversible and irreversible paths (between the initial and final
equilibrium states) was not arbitrary; instead, there was a unique upper
bound (maximum) to the value of the integral. Clausius also found that
this result was consistent with all the "word definitions" of the Second
Law.
Clearly, if there was an upper bound for this integral, this upper bound
had to depend only on the two equilibrium states, and not on the path
between them. It must therefore be regarded as a point function of
state. Clausius named this point function Entropy.
But how could the value of this point function be determined without
evaluating the integral over every possible process path between the
initial and final equilibrium states to find the maximum? Clausius made
another discovery. He determined that, out of the infinite number of
possible process paths, there existed a well-defined subset, each member
of which gave the same maximum value for the integral. This subset
consisted of what we call today
the reversible process paths.
So, to determine the
change in entropy between two equilibrium states,
one must first conceive of a reversible path between the states and then
evaluate the integral. Any other process path will give a value for the
integral lower than the entropy change.
So, mathematically, we can now state the Second Law as follows:
I=\int_{t_i}^{t_f}{\frac{\dot{q}(t)}{T_I(t)}dt}\leq\Delta S=\int_<br />
<br />
{t_i}^{t_f} {\frac{\dot{q}_{rev}(t)}{T(t)}dt}
where \dot{q}_{rev}(t) is the heat transfer rate for any of
the reversible paths between the initial and final equilibrium states,
and T(t) is the
system temperature at time t (which, for a
reversible path, is equal to the temperature at the interface with the
surroundings). This constitutes a precise mathematical statement of the
Second Law of Thermodynamics.