The five problems of irreversibility.
Thermodynamics has a clear arrow of time, characterized by the irreversible approach to equilibrium. This stands in contrast to the laws of microscopic theories, which are invariant under time-reversal. Foundational discussions of this "problem of irreversibility" often focus on historical considera...
| Publicado en: | Studies in History & Philosophy of Science Part A Vol. 87; pp. 136 - 147 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Elsevier B.V.
Jun2021
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=150792333&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 150792333 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00393681 HPS jtl: Studies in History & Philosophy of Science Part A issn: 00393681 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2021 vid: 87 pid: 2410 pub: Elsevier B.V. artinfo: ui: 150792333 10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.04.006 ppf: 136 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: The five problems of irreversibility. aug: au: te Vrugt, Michael affil: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, D-48149 Münster, Germany su: Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics Density functional theory Physicists Thermodynamics Statistical mechanics Nonequilibrium thermodynamics sug: subj: Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics Density functional theory Physicists Thermodynamics Statistical mechanics Nonequilibrium thermodynamics keyword: Arrow of time Coarse-graining Dynamical density functional theory Soft condensed matter Thermodynamic irreversibility ab: Thermodynamics has a clear arrow of time, characterized by the irreversible approach to equilibrium. This stands in contrast to the laws of microscopic theories, which are invariant under time-reversal. Foundational discussions of this "problem of irreversibility" often focus on historical considerations, and do therefore not take results of modern physical research on this topic into account. In this article, I will close this gap by studying the implications of dynamical density functional theory (DDFT), a central method of modern nonequilibrium statistical mechanics not previously considered in philosophy of physics, for this debate. For this purpose, the philosophical discussion of irreversibility is structured into five problems, concerned with the source of irreversibility in thermodynamics, the definition of equilibrium and entropy, the justification of coarse-graining, the approach to equilibrium and the arrow of time. For each of these problems, it is shown that DDFT provides novel insights that are of importance for both physicists and philosophers of physics. • First philosophical discussion of dynamical density functional theory (DDFT). • DDFT provides interesting case study for problem(s) of irreversibility. • DDFT shows effects of ensemble averages in irreversible dynamics. • DDFT connects foundational work on projection operators to research on soft matter. • Different forms of DDFT resemble different approaches in philosophy of physics. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y dt: @attributes: year: 2021 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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