Surprise? Entropy changes for systems in a canonical state

In summary, the conversation discusses the speaker's interest in physics and how they were surprised by reading a Wikipedia article on entropy. They mention a derivation of the second law from Gibbs entropy that was unknown to them, and how it clarifies the concept of heat and work from a statistical perspective. The speaker also asks the listener if they were aware of this argument, when and how they learned it, and if they know any other references that discuss it further. They also mention a source, Jaynes 1957, that discusses this argument.
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maajdl
Gold Member
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Every year since the 90's I come back to some of my pet topics in physics, like statistical physics.
This time it was the reading of a Wikipedia article on entropy that surprised me.
The derivation of the second law from the Gibbs entropy was unknown to me.
I didn't know how heat, how change of internal energy, and how work can be identified from the equations below:

6e42d8b7fd3830084141f9d0cb4f3d9715881171
edbcfce7e6e6c915bc211eb40239d5cefa9ce6e3
f69390136af8271cf1b44410b38ae32308b00e6b

or

df63971dc42a5cfffe90afe9a0d043f63fd59fa8


Not only is this derivation very simple but it also clarifies the meaning of heat and work from a statistical point of view.

I would like to know:

- if you were aware of this argument
- when/how you learned it
- how far it could be traced back in time (Gibbs maybe)
- if you know other references that mention this argument and discuss it further

Thanks to share
 
Science news on Phys.org

1. What is entropy?

Entropy is a thermodynamic property that measures the amount of disorder or randomness in a system. It is often described as the measure of the degree of chaos or unpredictability in a system.

2. What is a canonical state?

A canonical state is a thermodynamic state in which a system is in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings, meaning that the system's temperature, pressure, and volume are constant.

3. How does entropy change in a canonical state?

In a canonical state, the entropy of a system can change due to changes in temperature, volume, or the number of particles in the system. Generally, the entropy of a system increases as it moves towards a state of higher disorder.

4. How is surprise related to entropy?

Surprise is a concept that is closely related to entropy. In thermodynamics, surprise is a measure of the degree of uncertainty in a system. As a system moves towards a state of higher entropy, it becomes more unpredictable and therefore more surprising.

5. What factors affect entropy changes in a canonical state?

The main factors that affect entropy changes in a canonical state are temperature, volume, and the number of particles in the system. Additionally, the nature of the system's interactions with its surroundings can also influence its entropy changes.

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