Entropy and Entropy Generation -

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Résumé :
Entropy and entropy generation play essential roles in our understanding of many diverse phenomena ranging from cosmology to biology. Their importance is manifest in areas of immediate practical interest such as the provision of global energy as well as in others of a more fundamental flavour such as the source of order and complexity in nature. They also form the basis of most modern formulations of both equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Today much progress is being made in our understanding of entropy and entropy generation in both fundamental aspects and application to concrete problems. The purpose of this volume is to present some of these recent and important results in a manner that not only appeals to the entropy specialist but also makes them accessible to the nonspecialist looking for an overview of the field. This book contains fourteen contributions by leading scientists in their fields. The content covers such topics as quantum thermodynamics, nonlinear processes, gravitational and irreversible thermodynamics, the thermodynamics of Taylor dispersion, higher order transport, the mesoscopic theory of liquid crystals, simulated annealing, information and biological aspects, global energy, photovoltaics, heat and mass transport and nonlinear electrochemical systems. Audience: This work will be of value to physicists, chemists, biologists and engineers interested in the theory and applications of entropy and its generation.

Sommaire:
On Positivity of Rate of Entropy in Quantum-Thermodynamics.- Entropy of Sequences Generated by Nonlinear Processes: The Logistic Map.- Developments in Normal and Gravitational Thermodynamics.- Extended Irreversible Thermodynamics: Statements and Prospects.- Extended Thermodynamics and Taylor Dispersion.- Higher-Order Transport.- Mesoscopic Theory of Liquid Crystals.- Finite-Time Thermodynamics and Simulated Annealing.- Entropy, Information and Biological Materials.- Phenomenological Macroscopic Symmetry in Dissipative Nonlinear Systems.- The Provision of Global Energy.- Multiple Source Photovoltaics.- Coupled Transport of Heat and Mass. Theory and Applications.- Lagrangian and Network Formulations of Nonlinear Electrochemical Systems.