Adiabatic and thermally insulated: should they have the same meaning?

Abstract

Symmetries regarding system-surroundings interchange are used to propose the attribution of different meanings to the terms ‘adiabatic’ and ‘thermally insulated’ and address the resulting implications. It is also shown that entropy generation can be interpreted as the ratio of lost work by the temperature at which such loss occurs, and that it occurs always in the system.

Why is dissipative work insistently ignored? The case of heat capacities

“…A key concept to which insufficient emphasis has been given is that of dissipative work [1,2]. As explained in [2], dissipative work δW D is the difference between work δW and configuration work δW C (the part of work that is used to configure the system), i.e. δW D being converted into internal energy of the system or surroundings, so that it can no longer be used as work, being thus appropriately considered as lost work.…”

“…A key concept to which insufficient emphasis has been given is that of dissipative work [1,2]. As explained in [2], dissipative work δW D is the difference between work δW and configuration work δW C (the part of work that is used to configure the system), i.e.…”

Ten steps to entropy

“…Exploring this area could be a worthwhile project for students interested in the history of physics as an example of how meanings, notations, and interpretations evolve away from what the originators of a field intended. Similarly, the pedagogical literature abounds with vigorous discussions of issues such as whether the terms 'adiabatic' and 'thermally insulated' have the same meaning (a question which relates to whether or not they are also isentropes) [8], the distinction between reversible and irreversible adiabats [9], how processes should be represented diagramatically [10], and how reservoirs should be defined [11]. These are all important and nuanced issues, but for most students will represent topics for more detailed study after the fundamentals are firmly in hand.…”

Comment on ‘Equivalence of the Kelvin–Planck statement of the second law and the principle of entropy increase’

“…Sarasua and Abal [1] would have fully achieved that goal if they had not imposed the total insulation of the system in process  i f, having thus obtained an incomplete demonstration. In fact, from (3) and as Mello and Rodríguez [6] pointed out, only thermal insulation (d = Q 0) [8] is required to obtain (4) from (3), and thus there is no need for mechanical insulation: work can be exchanged with surroundings.…”

“…When dealing with B, energies are positive if they leave it and negative otherwise, because the sign convention was established in relation to A. From (6)- (8), and noting that…”