Fourth Law Of Thermodynamics Research Articles

The Material Entropy and the Fourth Law of Thermodynamics in the Evaluation of Energy Technologies of the Future

The primary purpose of this article is to use the laws of thermodynamics, mainly the second and fourth laws, to evaluate three energy technologies of the future: fusion, solar, and fission. Among the criteria used to evaluate them, the most important are the amount of matter needed to sustain the technology itself and the environmental impact. Much emphasis is placed here on the fourth law of thermodynamics, which introduces the concept of material entropy. Zemansky–Georgescu-Roegen’s Law of Inevitable Dissipation of Useful Concentrated Matter states that, in the economic process, some matter is inevitably degraded and becomes unavailable matter. This has tremendous implications for humanity as a whole since the Earth is thermodynamically a closed system, meaning that it cannot exchange matter with space but is open to the flow of solar energy. This results in the need to conserve matter and natural resources. This law can be used as an important criterion for the selection of energy technology. Moreover, the flow–fund model, which was proposed by Georgescu-Roegen, was used to assess the viability of energy technologies. The final conclusion is that there is no Promethean technology of the third kind yet, but the closest to meeting this condition is solar technology. Technology based on nuclear fission has been rejected due to its adverse ecological effects, while fusion technology has proven to be less useful due to the matter criterion, the negative environmental impact, since radioactive waste only becomes safe for humans after 500 years, and the risks associated with nuclear proliferation. Solar technology can become Prometheus III only after all of humanity is involved with this project, which requires profound social changes, widespread demilitarization, and the development of organic agriculture. This implies the necessity of the emergence of a global solar society based on an economic system called solar communism.

The fourth law of thermodynamics: steepest entropy ascent.

When thermodynamics is understood as the science (or art) of constructing effective models of natural phenomena by choosing a minimal level of description capable of capturing the essential features of the physical reality of interest, the scientific community has identified a set of general rules that the model must incorporate if it aspires to be consistent with the body of known experimental evidence. Some of these rules are believed to be so general that we think of them as laws of Nature, such as the great conservation principles, whose 'greatness' derives from their generality, as masterfully explained by Feynman in one of his legendary lectures. The second law of thermodynamics is universally contemplated among the great laws of Nature. In this paper, we show that in the past four decades, an enormous body of scientific research devoted to modelling the essential features of non-equilibrium natural phenomena has converged from many different directions and frameworks towards the general recognition (albeit still expressed in different but equivalent forms and language) that another rule is also indispensable and reveals another great law of Nature that we propose to call the 'fourth law of thermodynamics'. We state it as follows: every non-equilibrium state of a system or local subsystem for which entropy is well defined must be equipped with a metric in state space with respect to which the irreversible component of its time evolution is in the direction of steepest entropy ascent compatible with the conservation constraints. To illustrate the power of the fourth law, we derive (nonlinear) extensions of Onsager reciprocity and fluctuation-dissipation relations to the far-non-equilibrium realm within the framework of the rate-controlled constrained-equilibrium approximation (also known as the quasi-equilibrium approximation). This article is part of the theme issue 'Fundamental aspects of nonequilibrium thermodynamics'.

Self-organization and the maximum empower principle in the framework of max-plus algebra

Self-organization is a process where order of a whole system arises out of local interactions between small components of a system. Emergy, spelled with an ‘m’, defined as the amount of (solar) energy used to make a product or service, is becoming an important ecological indicator. The Maximum Empower Principle (MEP) was proposed as the fourth law of thermodynamics by the ecologist Odum in the90′s to explain observed self-organization of energy driven systems. But this principle suffers a lack of mathematical formulation due to an insufficiency of details about the underlying computation of empower (i.e. emergy per time). For empower computation in steady-state an axiomatic basis has been developed recently by Le Corre and the second author of this paper. In this axiomatic basis emergy is defined as a recursive max-plus linear function. Using this axiomatic basis and a correspondence between ecological theory and dynamic systems theory, we prove the MEP. In particular, we show that the empower computation in steady-state is equivalent to a combinatorial optimization problem.

The fourth law of thermodynamics (LMEP) and cognition from first principles: commentary on Barrett’s “On the nature and origins of cognition as a form of motivated activity”

Nat Barrett’s “On the nature and origins of cognition as a form of motivated activity” puts a well-focused light on the central problems, plaguing the core of enactivist, or 4E cognitive theories and points to LMEP (the Law of Maximum Entropy Production or the fourth law of thermodynamics) and the thermodynamic groundwork Micheal Turvey and I presented a little less than three decades ago as the pathway in. Here, I offer some brief remarks supporting his efforts as well as some clarifying points following from work done in the ensuing years. We are now at a point where we can dissolve the problems Barrett so cogently identifies and get us to a nomologically grounded theory of embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended cognition, a robust alternative to the failed computationalist model, from first principles.

The Theory of the Hidden Variable behind: The Quantization of Duality

Modern knowledge in physics is in need of new ideas in order to find answers to questions about the origins of matter, waveparticle duality, time, the Big Bang, black hole singularity, and evolution. As an effort to collaborate with the infusion of new ideas, this investigation was developed based on the philosophy of hidden variables behind (HVB). This HVB theory is originated from re-interpreting the fundamental concepts of energy delocalization from the atomic model of Bohr and the generation of electric charges in particles from the electromagnetic equations of Maxwell. In the theory, it is hypothesized that before the Big Bang, the electric and magnetic energy were initially totally delocalized, that is, spread over an infinite number of energy levels belonging to a tachyon-like parent matrix of matter that moves faster than the speed of light. The matter at this superluminal state is considered to be non-dual, theoretically having its energy acting 100% as a wave and 0% as a particle, hereby identified as pure energy. The luminal matter of this universe is considered to be distorted superluminal matter having lower than 100% delocalized and higher than 0% localized energy. The HVB theory introduces a new quantum field that attenuates the degree of localization of pure energy to allow particles to have different degrees of duality, so that duality can be scrambled. The model proposes that a Lorentz-like force acts on the fully-delocalized superluminal energy of the pure matter, causing a slowdown of its velocity, becoming localized luminal speed of light. The increase in localized energy leads to greater mass and charge allocation in particles. In the HVB theory, the universe was originated from a vortex formed of distorted energy-waves of the matrix, which created a gradient of attracted waves driven by increased in electromagnetic force, later developing gravity, forming an equilibrated “bubble” of luminal matter in the superluminal matrix, resembling a slower moving eddy on the surface of the rushing waters of a river. The motion of the bubble-universe in the matrix is represented from the wave point of view, in which the universe is entangled energy propagating through the matter of the matrix medium. The matter of the matrix being distorted to form the universe at point A is not the same matter of the matrix being distorted to re-form it at point B. This implies that what is really being propagated is the information or instruction of how to distort matrix matter to look like the universe, with the condition of replacing it with a slight increase in entropy. The quantum-controlled attenuation of the degree of localization gives rise to the particle plethora, allows crossing from particles to anti-particles, and explains how isotopes of the same element may decay at different rates. In the HVB theory time is considered another waveparticle. The concept implies that both waveparticles time and light must have non-zero mass. The flow of the waveparticle time is unidirectional, associated with increased disorder. The energy levels of time are organized by locating the occurrence of any event 1 (the cause) at a higher energy level than the immediate occurring event 2 (the effect). Traveling back in time is forbidden due to energy barriers to reach the past and the future. The theory acclaims the establishment of the fourth law of thermodynamics: Energy use is always minimized. This changes the modern view of the parallel universes. Black holes are seen as places of the matrix in which the Big Bang effect is reversed at a lower scale by returning localized energy back to delocalized, in which the singularity is seen as the place at which luminal physics collapse and superluminal physics takes over.

What did Lotka really say? A critical reassessment of the “maximum power principle”

This paper presents a critical discussion of the so-called “maximum power principle”, often quoted in studies about the energy balance of living systems and also known in the emergy literature as “maximum em-power principle”. Several authors consider this principle highly relevant and some even proposed it as a “fourth law of thermodynamics”. A critical analysis of the original source, namely Alfred Lotka's 1921–22 papers, conducted both in an historical perspective (the connection between Lotka's writings and the ongoing debate at his time) and in a more modern context, leads to a more detailed and less biased assessment. It turns out that in spite of Lotka's very anticipatory and incredibly sharp vision of the possible interconnections between the second law of thermodynamics and evolutionism, doubts arise about the general applicability of his “maximum power principle”. From an accurate analysis of his writings, it can be concluded that: (a) Lotka explicitly and consistently addressed the “optimal use” of the flow of exergy (available energy), and therefore the quantity defined as “em-power” is an incorrect interpretation of Lotka's constrained maximum power principle; (b) “Lotka's principle” can be reformulated within Ziegler's “maximum entropy production” or Prigogine “minimum entropy generation” paradigm only under two different respective sets of rather stringent additional conditions which Lotka was probably already aware of but never explicitly stated.

Enthalpy–entropy correlations as chemical guides to unravel self-assembly processes

Intermolecular connections play a crucial role in biology (recognition, signalling, binding), in physics (material cohesion) and in chemistry ((supra)molecular engineering). While a phenomenological thermodynamic free-energy approach for modelling self-assemblies is now at hand, a more satisfying description based on the chemically-intuitive enthalpic and entropic contributions remains elusive. On the other hand, the innumerable reports of empirical enthalpy/entropy correlations characterizing intermolecular interactions justify a questioning about the emergence and exploitation of an apparent 'fourth law of thermodynamics', which could provide a simple manipulation of intermolecular binding processes. This tutorial Perspective aims at highlighting the current level of non-quantum rationalization of enthalpy-entropy correlations and their chemical consequences on the tuning and on the programming of intermolecular interactions in pure materials, and in diluted solutions.

The foundation of the theory of the universe dark energy and its nature

Surprisingly recent astronomical observations have provided strong evidence that our universe is not only expanding, but also is expanding at an accelerating rate. This paper pre- sents a basis of the theory of universe space- time dark energy, a solution of Einstein’s cosmological constant problem, physical interpretation of universe dark energy and Einstein’s cosmological constant Lambda and its value ( = 0.29447 × 10-52 m-2), values of universe dark energy density 1.2622 × 10-26 kg/m3 = 6.8023 GeV, universe critical density 1.8069 × 10-26 kg/m3 = 9.7378 GeV, universe matter density 0.54207 × 10-26 kg/m3 = 2.9213 GeV, and universe radiation density 2.7103 × 10-31 kg/m3 = 1.455 MeV. The interpretation in this paper is based on geometric modeling of space-time as a perfect four- dimensional continuum cosmic fluid and the momentum generated by the time. In this modeling time is considered as a mechanical variable along with other variables and treated on an equal footing. In such a modeling, time is considered to have a mechanical nature so that the momentum associated with it is equal to the negative of the universe total energy. Since the momentum associated with the time as a mechanical variable is equal to the negative system total energy, the coupling in the time and its momentum leads to maximum increase in the space-time field with 70.7% of the total energy. Moreover, a null paraboloid is obtained and interpreted as a function of the momentum generated by time. This paper presents also an interpretation of space-time tri-dipoles, gravity field waves, and gravity carriers (the gravitons). This model suggests that the space-time has a polarity and is composed of dipoles which are responsible for forming the orbits and storing the space-time energy-momentum. The tri-di- poles can be unified into a solo space-time dipole with an angle of 45 degrees. Such a result shows that the space-time is not void, on the contrary, it is full of conserved and dynamic energy-momentum structure. Furthermore, the gravity field waves is modeled and assumed to be carried by the gravitons which move in the speed of light. The equivalent mass of the graviton (rest mass) is found to be equal to 0.707 of the equivalent mass of the light photons. Such a result indicates that the lightest particle (up to the author’s knowledge) in the nature is the graviton and has an equivalent mass equals to 2.5119 x 10-52 kg. Based on the fluidic nature of dark energy, a fourth law of thermodynamics is proposed and a new physical interpretation of Kepler’s Laws are presented. Additionally, based on the fact that what we are observing is just the history of our universe, on the Big Bang Theory, Einstein’s General Relativity, Hubble Parameter, cosmic inflation theory and on NASA’s observation of supernova 1a, then a second-order (parabolic) parametric model is obtained in this proposed paper to describe the accelerated ex- pansion of the universe. This model shows that the universe is approaching the universe cosmic horizon line and will pass through a critical point that will influence significantly its fate. Considering the breaking symmetry model and the variational principle of mechanics, then the universe will witness an infinitesimally stationary state and a symmetry breaking. As result of that, our universe will experience in the near future, a very massive impulse force in the order 1083 N. Subsequently, the universe will collapse. Finally, simulation results are demonstrated to verify the analytical results.

Integrability of Heat and Its Integrating Factor in Classical Thermodynamics

A symmetry called ‘scaling’ and a transformation accompanying this symmetry are introduced into the thermodynamic state space M using the fourth law of thermodynamics (coined by Landsberg in 1961 for the ‘intensive-extensive’ dichotomy of thermodynamic variables). Combining the condition stated in Carathéodory's lemma with the transformation ‘scaling’, the integrating factor β for ωH is formulated to be given by lnβ(p) − lnβ(p0) = ln{ωH(∂g)p0 / ωH(∂g)p} + ∫c{ωH/ωH (∂g)}, where ωH denotes the 1-form that expresses heat, ∂g the infinitesimal transformation of ‘scaling’, p the point in M, p0 some fixed point in M, c the path connecting p0 to p. The entropy function is given by Sp = β(p) ωH (∂g)p. For these two functions to be globally meaningful, the path integral ∫γ{ωH/ωH(∂g)} vanishes for all elements γ of the Poincaré fundamental group.

SCALING THEORY AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF PHASE TRANSITIONS

The recent classification theory for phase transitions (R. Hilfer, Physica Scripta 44, 321 (1991)) and its relation with the foundations of statistical physics is reviewed. First it is outlined how Ehrenfests classification scheme can be generalized into a general thermodynamic classification theory for phase transitions. The classification theory implies scaling and multiscaling thereby eliminating the need to postulate the scaling hypothesis as a fourth law of thermodynamics. The new classification has also led to the discovery and distinction of nonequilibrium transitions within equilibrium statistical physics. Nonequilibrium phase transitions are distinguished from equilibrium transitions by orders less than unity and by the fact that equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics become inapplicable at the critical point. The latter fact requires a change in the Gibbs assumption underlying the canonical and grandcanonical ensembles in order to recover the thermodynamic description in the critical limit.

Thermodynamical Analysis of Life II. On the Maximum Principle of Transient Phenomena

In transient phenomena, nature seems to prefer the pass of the maximum rate of reaction. The principle is called by Lord Rayleigh the principle of the least dissipation of energy. The other aspect of this principle is the equilibrium of the second coordinate. It is a very important law of nature and might be called the fourth law of thermo-dynamics. The most important meaning of this principle is seen in the application to the bio-physics. Foundation of this principle is endeavoured in the following.