second law of thermodynamics

E700593

law of thermodynamics physical law

The second law of thermodynamics is a fundamental physical principle stating that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time, establishing the direction of natural processes and the concept of irreversibility.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Second Law of Thermodynamics	1
second law of thermodynamics canonical	1

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	law of thermodynamics ⓘ physical law ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	law of entropy increase ⓘ
appliesTo	macroscopic systems ⓘ
ClausiusStatement	heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder body to a hotter body ⓘ
concerns	entropy ⓘ irreversibility ⓘ isolated systems ⓘ spontaneous processes ⓘ
constrains	direction of chemical reactions in isolated systems ⓘ possible thermodynamic processes ⓘ
describes	entropy increase in isolated systems ⓘ
entropyStatement	the entropy of an isolated system tends to increase and approaches a maximum ⓘ
field	physics ⓘ thermodynamics ⓘ
formulation	Clausius statement NERFINISHED ⓘ Kelvin–Planck statement NERFINISHED ⓘ entropy statement ⓘ statistical mechanics formulation ⓘ
foundationFor	concept of free energy in spontaneous processes ⓘ non-equilibrium thermodynamics ⓘ thermodynamic definition of temperature ⓘ
historicallyDevelopedBy	Ludwig Boltzmann NERFINISHED ⓘ Rudolf Clausius NERFINISHED ⓘ William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin NERFINISHED ⓘ
implies	Carnot efficiency is the maximum efficiency of a heat engine operating between two temperatures NERFINISHED ⓘ efficiency limits for heat engines ⓘ existence of a preferred direction of time ⓘ heat flows spontaneously from hot to cold ⓘ natural processes are irreversible ⓘ perpetual motion machines of the second kind are impossible ⓘ there is a thermodynamic arrow of time ⓘ
KelvinPlanckStatement	it is impossible to construct a cyclic engine whose sole effect is to convert heat from a single reservoir completely into work ⓘ
mathematicalForm	dS ≥ δQ_rev / T for closed systems ⓘ
predicts	entropy production in irreversible processes ⓘ
relatedConcept	Boltzmann entropy NERFINISHED ⓘ entropy ⓘ heat death of the universe ⓘ microstates and macrostates ⓘ thermodynamic equilibrium ⓘ
states	the total entropy of an isolated system never decreases over time ⓘ
statisticalNature	it is overwhelmingly probable rather than absolutely unavoidable ⓘ
timePeriodOfDevelopment	19th century ⓘ
usedIn	design of heat engines ⓘ information theory analogies ⓘ refrigeration cycles ⓘ statistical mechanics ⓘ

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

third law of thermodynamics → contrastsWith → second law of thermodynamics ⓘ

First Law of Thermodynamics → precedes → second law of thermodynamics ⓘ

this entity surface form: Second Law of Thermodynamics