You certainly know the second law of thermodynamics, Do you know its connection to other laws of physics and chemistry?

Qiong Ye (1) , François-Xavier Machu (2) , Qiuping A. Wang (1, 2)

1 IMMM - Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans
2 ESIEA - Ecole Supérieure d'Informatique Electronique Automatique [Paris]

The discovery of the second law of thermodynamics is shortly revisited, with a stress on the unbreakable connection between the second law and the law of energy conservation. The aim is to remind that the second law is an inviolable iron rule. Any presumable violation of this law, even a probabilistic one hinted in the probabilistic interpretation of the second law, inevitably violates the law of energy and mass conservation, and undermines all fundamental laws of physics and chemistry. An alternative approach to interpret the second law, taking into account the multiplicity of paths of random motion in classical mechanics, is discussed.

Mots clés: Entropy; second law of thermodynamics; random dynamics; energy; energy conservation; Carnot engine; perpetual motion

Domaines: Mécanique statistique [cond-mat.stat-mech]

Qiong Ye, François-Xavier Machu, Qiuping A. Wang. You certainly know the second law of thermodynamics, Do you know its connection to other laws of physics and chemistry?. 2021. ⟨hal-03469396v1⟩