Second law of thermodynamics

[nouveau_riche]

can someone give me an example of isolated open systems ,which can allow me to understand 2nd law of thermodynamics?,bcoz i don't think there's anything called open system and that too in isolation

 

[henry_m]

What do you mean by an 'isolated open system'? The only meaning I've seen attached to 'open system' is that energy and material can be exchanged with its surroundings, which obviously means it isn't isolated...

 

[timthereaper]

I think you're right. To me, "isolated open system" is like saying "hot ice"; it's a contradiction. But what exactly don't you understand about the 2nd Law? If it's about the definition of entropy and what it is, you're definitely not the first to have questions.

 

[Bill_K]

The term is poorly chosen, but what it's referring to is an isolated system containing more than one species of particles that can interact and turn into one another. It's 'open' in the sense that the N_k's are not constant, and therefore to discuss equilibrium you need to talk about the chemical potentials.

 

[nouveau_riche]

The term is poorly chosen, but what it's referring to is an isolated system containing more than one species of particles that can interact and turn into one another. It's 'open' in the sense that the N_k's are not constant, and therefore to discuss equilibrium you need to talk about the chemical potentials.

sorry,typing error and thought mixing error,i mean close isolated systems