Concept of time in the general law of thermodynamics as the basis of the thermodynamics of the nonequilibrium state

Abstract

A mathematical formulation is proposed for the general law of thermodynamics in the form of relations defining the concept of thermodynamic time and the criterion of stable equilibrium. It is hypothesized that an implicit function F(Φ, τ, Φ, Φ, ... Φ(n))=0 associates the thermodynamic time and the potential Φ of the nonequilibrium state. Partial solutions of a general form are also obtained for the trajectories of a nonequilibrium process, characterized by the presence of only one independent variable, i.e., Φ=Φ(Φ(n)).