More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes
The dissipation in an irreversible step process is reduced when the number of steps is increased in any refinement of the steps in the process. This is a consequence of the ladder theorem, which states that, for any irreversible process proceeding by a sequence of relaxations, dividing any relaxatio...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Entropy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/25/3/539 |
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| author | Peter Salamon Bjarne Andresen James Nulton Ty N. F. Roach Forest Rohwer |
| author_facet | Peter Salamon Bjarne Andresen James Nulton Ty N. F. Roach Forest Rohwer |
| author_sort | Peter Salamon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The dissipation in an irreversible step process is reduced when the number of steps is increased in any refinement of the steps in the process. This is a consequence of the ladder theorem, which states that, for any irreversible process proceeding by a sequence of relaxations, dividing any relaxation step into two will result in a new sequence that is more efficient than the original one. This results in a more-steps-the-better rule, even when the new sequence of steps is not reoptimized. This superiority of many steps is well established empirically in, e.g., insulation and separation applications. In particular, the fact that the division of any step into two steps improves the overall efficiency has interesting implications for biological evolution and emphasizes thermodynamic length as a central measure for dissipation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:35:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-95c95aa740b04669a09c40b0aed757fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:35:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
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| series | Entropy |
| spelling | doaj.art-95c95aa740b04669a09c40b0aed757fa2023-11-17T10:57:38ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002023-03-0125353910.3390/e25030539More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step ProcessesPeter Salamon0Bjarne Andresen1James Nulton2Ty N. F. Roach3Forest Rohwer4Department of Mathematics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USANiels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Mathematics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USADepartment of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USADepartment of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USAThe dissipation in an irreversible step process is reduced when the number of steps is increased in any refinement of the steps in the process. This is a consequence of the ladder theorem, which states that, for any irreversible process proceeding by a sequence of relaxations, dividing any relaxation step into two will result in a new sequence that is more efficient than the original one. This results in a more-steps-the-better rule, even when the new sequence of steps is not reoptimized. This superiority of many steps is well established empirically in, e.g., insulation and separation applications. In particular, the fact that the division of any step into two steps improves the overall efficiency has interesting implications for biological evolution and emphasizes thermodynamic length as a central measure for dissipation.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/25/3/539minimizing dissipationrelaxationstep processessequential processesthermodynamic length |
| spellingShingle | Peter Salamon Bjarne Andresen James Nulton Ty N. F. Roach Forest Rohwer More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes Entropy minimizing dissipation relaxation step processes sequential processes thermodynamic length |
| title | More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes |
| title_full | More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes |
| title_fullStr | More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes |
| title_full_unstemmed | More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes |
| title_short | More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes |
| title_sort | more stages decrease dissipation in irreversible step processes |
| topic | minimizing dissipation relaxation step processes sequential processes thermodynamic length |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/25/3/539 |
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