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More Stages Decrease Dissipation in Irreversible Step Processes
Peter Salamon1, Bjarne Andresen2, James Nulton1
1Department of Mathematics, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 29, 2023
Summary
Increasing the number of steps in irreversible processes reduces energy dissipation. This "more-steps-the-better" rule, supported by the ladder theorem, enhances efficiency in various applications and biological evolution.
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics
- Physical Chemistry
- Biophysics
Background:
- Irreversible processes inherently involve energy dissipation.
- Optimizing efficiency in multi-step processes is crucial for various applications.
- The relationship between process steps and dissipation is not always intuitive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of increasing the number of steps on dissipation in irreversible processes.
- To explore the implications of the ladder theorem for process efficiency.
- To highlight the role of thermodynamic length in understanding dissipation.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis based on the ladder theorem.
- Examination of process refinement by dividing relaxation steps.
- Empirical evidence from insulation and separation applications.
Main Results:
- Increasing the number of steps in an irreversible process demonstrably reduces dissipation.
- The ladder theorem proves that dividing any relaxation step enhances overall efficiency.
- This holds true even without reoptimizing the new sequence of steps.
Conclusions:
- A
- more-steps-the-better
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