This thesis demonstrates the potential of two platforms to explore experimentally the emerging field of quantum thermodynamics that has remained mostly theoretical so far. It proposes methods to define and measure work in the quantum regime. The most important part of the thesis focuses on hybrid optomechanical devices, evidencing that they are proper candidates to measure directly the fluctuations of work and the corresponding fluctuation theorem. Such devices could also give rise to the observation of mechanical lasing and cooling, based on mechanisms similar to a heat engine. The final part of the thesis studies how quantum coherence can improve work extraction in superconducting circuits. All the proposals greatly clarify the concept of work since they are based on measurable quantities in state of the art devices.

The Energy of Physics, Part I: Classical Mechanics and Thermodynamics provides students the opportunity to learn physics the way in which physicists understand the discipline. In contrast to standard textbooks, which introduce forces first, this text begins with classical mechanics using the concept of energy conservation. By inverting the standard order of presentation, the book enables students to understand and use calculus effectively, particularly toward applications in physics. Energy conservation is a constant theme throughout the text. Newton's laws are presented in terms of work and changes in kinetic energy, and forces are introduced as the derivative of potential energy, which is necessary for defining equilibrium conditions. A generalization of forces and Newton's laws then motivates the concepts of linear and angular momentum. The mode of presentation also allows thermodynamics to be incorporated throughout the text. The second edition includes a new chapter on fluids and new and additional practice problems for all chapters. The Energy of Physics, Part I gives students a better understanding of classical mechanics and provides a solid foundation for more advanced physics concepts and courses. The text is ideal for calculus-based physics courses for science and engineering majors.

The principal objective of this book is to provide information needed to define human thermal behavior quantitatively. Human thermal physiology is defined using mathematical methods routinely employed by physicists and engineers, but seldom used by physiologists. Major sections of the book are devoted to blood flow, sweating, shivering, heat transfer within the body, and heat and mass transfer from skin and clothing to the environment. Simple algebraic models based on experimental data from a century of physiological investigation are developed for bodily processes. The book offers an invaluable source of information for physiologists and physical scientists interested in quantitative approaches to the fascinating field of human thermoregulation.

This multi-volume handbook is the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference work in the field of fractional calculus and its numerous applications. This fifth volume collects authoritative chapters covering several applications of fractional calculus in physics, including electrodynamics, statistical physics and physical kinetics, and quantum theory.

This book presents the optimal auxiliary functions method and applies it to various engineering problems and in particular in boundary layer problems. The cornerstone of the presented procedure is the concept of "optimal auxiliary functions" which are needed to obtain accurate results in an efficient way. Unlike other known analytic approaches, this procedure provides us with a simple but rigorous way to control and adjust the convergence of the solutions of nonlinear dynamical systems. The optimal auxiliary functions are depending on some convergence-control parameters whose optimal values are rigorously determined from mathematical point of view. The capital strength of our procedure is its fast convergence, since after only one iteration, we obtain very accurate analytical solutions which are very easy to be verified. Moreover, no simplifying hypothesis or assumptions are made. The book contains a large amount of practical models from various fields of engineering such as classical and fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, nonlinear oscillations, electrical machines, and many more. The book is a continuation of our previous books "Nonlinear Dynamical Systems in Engineering. Some Approximate Approaches", Springer-2011 and "The Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method. Engineering Applications", Springer-2015.

This book covers emerging energy storage technologies and material characterization methods along with various systems and applications in building, power generation systems and thermal management. The authors present options available for reducing the net energy consumption for heating/cooling, improving the thermal properties of the phase change materials and optimization methods for heat storage embedded multi-generation systems. An in-depth discussion on the natural convection-driven phase change is included. The book also discusses main energy storage options for thermal management practices in photovoltaics and phase change material applications that aim passive thermal control. This book will appeal to researchers and professionals in the fields of mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, renewable energy, and thermodynamics. It can also be used as an ancillary text in upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses in these fields.

This book investigates a wide range of phase equilibrium modelling and calculation problems for compositional thermal simulation. Further, it provides an effective solution for multiphase isenthalpic flash under the classical framework, and it also presents a new flash calculation framework for multiphase systems, which can handle phase equilibrium and chemical reaction equilibrium simultaneously. The framework is particularly suitable for systems with many phases and reactions. In this book, the author shows how the new framework can be generalised for different flash specifications and different independent variables. Since the flash calculation is at the heart of various types of compositional simulation, the findings presented here will promote the combination of phase equilibrium and chemical equilibrium calculations in future simulators, aiming at improving their robustness and efficiency.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of thermodynamics. It is divided into four parts, the first of which equips readers with a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles of thermodynamics of equilibrium states and of their evolution. The second part applies these principles to a series of generalized situations, presenting applications that are of interest both in their own right and in terms of demonstrating how thermodynamics, as a theory of principle, relates to different fields. In turn, the third part focuses on non-equilibrium configurations and the dynamics of natural processes. It discusses both discontinuous and continuous systems, highlighting the interference among non-equilibrium processes, and the nature of stationary states and of fluctuations in isolated systems. Lastly, part four introduces the relation between physics and information theory, which constitutes a new frontier in fundamental research. The book includes step-by-step exercises, with solutions, to help readers to gain a fuller understanding of the subjects, and also features a series of appendices providing useful mathematical formulae. Reflecting the content of modern university courses on thermodynamics, it is a valuable resource for students and young scientists in the fields of physics, chemistry, and engineering.

The first part is devoted to colloidal particles and stochastic dynamics, mainly concerned with recent authoritative results in the study of interactions between colloidal particles and transport properties in colloids and ferrocolloids. Recent advances in non-equilibrium statistical physics, such as stochastic resonance, Brownian motors, ratchets and noise-induced transport are also reported. The second part deals with biological systems and polymers. Here, standard simulation methodology to treat diffusional dynamics of multi-protein systems and proton transport in macromolecules is presented. Results of nervous system, spectroscopy of biological membrane models, and Monte Carlo simulations of polymers chains are also discussed. The third part is concerned with granular materials and quantum systems, in particular an effective-medium theory for a random system is reported. Additionally, a comprehensive treatment of spin and charge order in the vortex lattice of the cuprates, both theoretical and experimental, is included. Thermodynamics analogies between Bose-Einstein condensation and black-body radiation are also presented. The last part of the book contains recent developments of certain topics of liquid crystals and molecular fluids, including nonequilibrium thermal light scattering from nematic liquid crystals, relaxation in the kinetic Ising model on the periodic in homogeneous chain, models for thermotropic liquid-crystals, thermodynamic properties of fluids with discrete potentials as well as of fluids determined from the speed of sound effective potentials, and second viral coefficient for polar fluids.

This thesis investigates the combustion chemistry of cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, and ethylcyclohexane on the basis of state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation photoionization mass spectrometry experiments, quantum chemistry calculations, and extensive kinetic modeling. It explores the initial decomposition mechanism and distribution of the intermediates, proposes a novel formation mechanism of aromatics, and develops a detailed kinetic model to predict the three cycloalkanes' combustion properties under a wide range of conditions. Accordingly, the thesis provides an essential basis for studying much more complex cycloalkanes in transport fuels and has applications in engine and fuel design, as well as emission control.

This book continues the process of systematization of knowledge about convection. It is important to put the current knowledge on weakly and strongly stratified convection in order, and provide a comprehensive description of the marginal, weakly nonlinear and fully developed stages of convective flow in both cases. The book provides a short compendium of knowledge on the linear and weakly nonlinear limits of the Boussinesq convection, and a review of the theory on fully developed Boussinesq convection. The third chapter is devoted to a detailed derivation and a study of the three aforementioned stages of stratified (anelastic) convection, with a full solution in the marginal stage provided for the first time. Detailed and systematic explanations are given. The book is intended mainly as a textbook for courses on hydrodynamics and convective flows, for the use of lecturers and students; however, it also serves for the entire scientific community as a practical reference.

This book discusses the elementary ideas and tools needed for open quantum systems in a comprehensive manner. The emphasis is given to both the traditional master equation as well as the functional (path) integral approaches. It discusses the basic paradigm of open systems, the harmonic oscillator and the two-level system in detail. The traditional topics of dissipation and tunneling, as well as the modern field of quantum information, find a prominent place in the book. Assuming a basic background of quantum and statistical mechanics, this book will help readers familiarize with the basic tools of open quantum systems. Open quantum systems is the study of quantum dynamics of the system of interest, taking into account the effects of the ambient environment. It is ubiquitous in the sense that any system could be envisaged to be surrounded by its environment which could naturally exert its influence on it. Open quantum systems allows for a systematic understanding of irreversible processes such as decoherence and dissipation, of the essence in order to have a correct understanding of realistic quantum dynamics and also for possible implementations. This would be essential for a possible development of quantum technologies.

This book presents the derivation of the fluctuation theorems with divergent entropy production and their application to fundamental problems in statistical physics. It explores the two basic aspects of the fluctuation theorems: i) Applicability in extreme situations with divergent entropy production, concluding that the fluctuation theorems remain valid under the notion of absolute irreversibility, and ii) utility in the investigation of classical enigmas in the framework of statistical physics, i.e., Gibbs and Loschmidt paradoxes. The book offers readers an overview of the research in fundamental statistical physics. Firstly it briefly but skillfully reviews the modern development of fluctuation theorems to found the key theme of the book. Secondly it concisely discusses historical issues of statistical physics in chronological order, along with the key literature in the field. They help readers easily follow the key developments in the fundamental research of statistical physics.

Starting from a broad overview of heat transport based on the Boltzmann Transport Equation, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of heat transport in bulk and nanomaterials based on a kinetic-collective model (KCM). This has become key to understanding the field of thermal transport in semiconductors, and represents an important stride. The book describes how heat transport becomes hydrodynamic at the nanoscale, propagating very much like a viscous fluid and manifesting vorticity and friction-like behavior. It introduces a generalization of Fourier's law including a hydrodynamic term based on collective behavior in the phonon ensemble. This approach makes it possible to describe in a unifying way recent experiments that had to resort to unphysical assumptions in order to uphold the validity of Fourier's law, demonstrating that hydrodynamic heat transport is a pervasive type of behavior in semiconductors at reduced scales.

This thesis reveals how the feedback trap technique, developed to trap small objects for biophysical measurement, could be adapted for the quantitative study of the thermodynamic properties of small systems. The experiments in this thesis are related to Maxwell's demon, a hypothetical intelligent, "neat fingered" being that uses information to extract work from heat, apparently creating a perpetual-motion machine. The second law of thermodynamics should make that impossible, but how? That question has stymied physicists and provoked debate for a century and a half. The experiments in this thesis confirm a hypothesis proposed by Rolf Landauer over fifty years ago: that Maxwell's demon would need to erase information, and that erasing information-resetting the measuring device to a standard starting state-requires dissipating as much energy as is gained. For his thesis work, the author used a "feedback trap" to study the motion of colloidal particles in "v irtual potentials" that may be manipulated arbitrarily. The feedback trap confines a freely diffusing particle in liquid by periodically measuring its position and applying an electric field to move it back to the origin.

Natural phenomena consist of simultaneously occurring transport processes and chemical reactions. These processes may interact with each other and may lead to self-organized structures, fluctuations, instabilities, and evolutionary systems. "Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics, 3rd edition" emphasizes the unifying role of thermodynamics in analyzing the natural phenomena.

This third edition updates and expands on the first and second editions by focusing on the general balance equations for coupled processes of physical, chemical, and biological systems. The new edition contains a new chapter on stochastic approaches to include the statistical thermodynamics, mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics, fluctuation theory, information theory, and modeling the coupled biochemical systems in thermodynamic analysis. This new addition also comes with more examples and practice problems.

A useful text for seniors and graduate students from diverse engineering and science programs to analyze some nonequilibrium, coupled, evolutionary, stochastic, and dissipative processesHighlights fundamentals of equilibrium thermodynamics, transport processes and chemical reactionsExpands the theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and its use in coupled transport processes and chemical reactions in physical, chemical, and biological systemsPresents a unified analysis for transport and rate processes in various time and space scalesDiscusses stochastic approaches in thermodynamic analysis including fluctuation and information theoriesHas 198 fully solved examples and 287 practice problemsAn Instructor Resource containing the Solution Manual can be obtained from the author: [email protected]

Features twenty-five chapter contributions from an international array of distinguished academics based in Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, and the USA. This multi-author contributed volume provides an up-to-date and authoritative overview of cutting-edge themes involving the thermal analysis, applied solid-state physics, micro- and nano-crystallinity of selected solids and their macro- and microscopic thermal properties. Distinctive chapters featured in the book include, among others, calorimetry time scales from days to microseconds, glass transition phenomena, kinetics of non-isothermal processes, thermal inertia and temperature gradients, thermodynamics of nanomaterials, self-organization, significance of temperature and entropy. Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers working in the field of thermal analysis, thermophysical measurements and calorimetry will find this contributed volume invaluable. This is the third volume of the triptych volumes on thermal behaviour of materials; the previous two receiving thousand of downloads guaranteeing their worldwide impact.

This book provides deep insight into the physical quantity known as chemical activity. The author probes deep into classical thermodynamics in Part I, and then into statistical thermodynamics in Part II, to provide the necessary background. The treatment has been streamlined by placing some background material in appendices. Chemical Activity is of interest not only to those in chemical thermodynamics, but also to chemical engineers working with mass transfer and its applications - for example, separation methods.

This book investigates the common nature of granular and active systems, which is rooted in their intrinsic out-of-equilibrium behavior, with the aim of finding minimal models able to reproduce and predict the complex collective behavior observed in experiments and simulations. Granular and active matter are among the most studied systems in out-of-equilibrium statistical physics. The book guides readers through the derivation of a fluctuating hydrodynamic description of granular and active matter by means of controlled and transparent mathematical assumptions made on a lattice model. It also shows how a macroscopic description can be provided from microscopic requirements, leading to the prediction of collective states such as cooling, swarming, clustering and the transitions among them. The analytical and numerical results shed new light on the physical connection between the local, microscopic properties of few particles and the macroscopic collective motion of the whole system.

Maximum Dissipation: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and its Geometric Structure explores the thermodynamics of non-equilibrium processes in materials. The book develops a general technique created in order to construct nonlinear evolution equations describing non-equilibrium processes, while also developing a geometric context for non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Solid materials are the main focus in this volume, but the construction is shown to also apply to fluids. This volume also: * Explains the theory behind thermodynamically-consistent construction of non-linear evolution equations for non-equilibrium processes * Provides a geometric setting for non-equilibrium thermodynamics through several standard models, which are defined as maximum dissipation processes * Emphasizes applications to the time-dependent modeling of soft biological tissue Maximum Dissipation: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and its Geometric Structure will be valuable for researchers, engineers and graduate students in non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the mathematical modeling of material behavior.

This volume looks afresh at the life and works of Lord Kelvin including his standing and relationships with Charles Darwin, T. S Huxley and the X-club, thereby throwing new light on the nineteenth-century conflict between the British energy and biology specialists. It focuses on two principal issues. Firstly, there is the contribution made by Kelvin to the formulation of the Laws of Thermodynamics, both personal and in the content of the scientific communications exchanged with other workers, such as Joule and Clausius. Secondly, there is Kelvin's impact on the wider field of science such as thermoelectricity and geology (determination of the age of the earth). Of late a number of studies and initiatives, including the Centenary celebrations of Kelvin's death and exhibits such as that of the 'Revolutionary Scientist' in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, have been undertaken aiding the redefinition of Kelvin's greatness and achievements. The book also raises awareness to 'improve our approach to the teaching of elementary thermodynamics by attempting to empathise with Kelvin's perspective'.It is completed by a full biography, overviews of various monuments to his memory, and short 'Stories in Pictures' on the Atlantic cable, Maxwell's Demon, the universities associated with the development of thermodynamics and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Scientists and engineers with an interest in thermodynamics and anyone interested in the work of Lord Kelvin will find benefit in Kelvin, Thermodynamics and the Natural World.

A group of distinguished scientists contributes to the foundations of a new discipline in Earth sciences: earthquake thermodynamics and thermodynamics of formation of the Earth's interior structures. The predictive powers of thermodynamics are so great that those aspiring to model earthquake and the Earth's interior will certainly wish to be able to use the theory. Thermodynamics is our only method of understanding and predicting the behavior of many environmental, atmospheric, and geological processes. The need for Earth scientists to develop a functional knowledge of thermodynamic concepts and methodology is therefore urgent. Sources of an entropy increase the dissipative and self-organizing systems driving the evolution and dynamics of the Universe and Earth through irreversible processes. The non-linear interactions lead to the formation of fractal structures. From the structural phase transformations the important interior boundaries emerge.
Non-linear interactions between the defects in solids lead the authors to develop the physics of continua with a dense distribution of defects. Disclinations and dislocations interact during a slow evolution as well as during rapid dynamic events, like earthquakes. Splitting the dynamic processes into the 2D fault done and 3D surrounding space brings a new tool for describing the slip nucleation and propagation along the earthquake faults. Seismic efficiency, rupture velocity, and complexity of seismic source zone are considered from different points of view, fracture band earthquake model is developed on the basis of thermodynamics of line defects, like dislocations. Earthquake thermodynamics offers us a microscopic model of earthquake sources.
Physics of defects helps the authors decscribe and explain a number of precursory phenomena caused by the buildup of stresses. Anomalies in electric polarization and electromagnetic radiation prior to earthquakes are considered from this point of view. Through the thermodynamic approach, the authors arrive at the fascinating question of posssibility of earthquake prediction. In general, the Earth is considered here as a multicomponent system. Transport phenomena as well as wave propagation and shock waves are considered in this system subjected also to chemical and phase transformations.

Rational extended thermodynamics (RET) is the theory that is applicable to nonequilibrium phenomena out of local equilibrium. It is expressed by the hyperbolic system of field equations with local constitutive equations and is strictly related to the kinetic theory with the closure method of the hierarchies of moment equations. The book intends to present, in a systematic way, new results obtained by RET of gases in both classical and relativistic cases, and it is a natural continuation of the book "Rational Extended Thermodynamics beyond the Monatomic Gas" by the same authors published in 2015. However, this book addresses much wider topics than those of the previous book. Its contents are as follows: RET of rarefied monatomic gases and of polyatomic gases; a simplified RET theory with 6 fields being valid far from equilibrium; RET where both molecular rotational and vibrational modes exist; mixture of gases with multi-temperature. The theory is applied to several typical topics (sound waves, shock waves, etc.) and is compared with experimental data. From a mathematical point of view, RET can be regarded as a theory of hyperbolic symmetric systems, of which it is possible to conduct a qualitative analysis. The book represents a valuable resource for applied mathematicians, physicists, and engineers, offering powerful models for many potential applications such as reentering satellites into the atmosphere, semiconductors, and nanoscale phenomena.

This book provides detailed calculated values for the thermal radiative and thermodynamic functions of black-body radiation in finite spectral ranges. The results are presented in tabular form. The areas of thermal power generation, infrared medical diagnostics, solar power and nuclear generation, and astrophysics are included. A range of the thermal radiative and thermodynamic functions are calculated by the authors in the finite frequency/wavenumber/wavelength intervals at different temperatures. This book also contains the tables of the chromaticity coordinates and RGB parameters calculated for different color spaces (Rec.709 (HDTV), sRGB, Adobe RGB). A number of the optimization problems is formulated and solved for various thermal black-body radiative and thermodynamic functions in a finite range of frequencies.