From Maximum Entropy to Maximum Entropy Production: A New Approach
Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Sussex, UK
Entropy 2010, 12(1), 107-126; https://doi.org/10.3390/e12010107
Received: 30 November 2009 / Revised: 12 January 2010 / Accepted: 14 January 2010 / Published: 18 January 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue What Is Maximum Entropy Production and How Should We Apply It?)
Evidence from climate science suggests that a principle of maximum thermodynamic entropy production can be used to make predictions about some physical systems. I discuss the general form of this principle and an inherent problem with it, currently unsolved by theoretical approaches: how to determine which system it should be applied to. I suggest a new way to derive the principle from statistical mechanics, and present a tentative solution to the system boundary problem. I discuss the need for experimental validation of the principle, and its impact on the way we see the relationship between thermodynamics and kinetics.
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Keywords:
thermodynamics; statistical mechanics; maximum entropy; maximum entropy production; Edwin Jaynes
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MDPI and ACS Style
Virgo, N. From Maximum Entropy to Maximum Entropy Production: A New Approach. Entropy 2010, 12, 107-126.
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