Understanding Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics is a self contained concise but rigorous book introducing the reader to the basic concepts of the thermodynamical process of the nature. The book offers a homogeneous presentation of the many facets of non-equilibrium thermodynamics in its 11 chapters.
The first six chapters provide a description of the thermodynamic formalism recognized as a classical theory of the non-equilibrium process. For example, the concept of the state and the notions of the internal energy and entropy are reviewed in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 deals with the classical irreversible thermodynamics providing the basis of the proportionality law between fluxes and forces and finally deriving the evolution equations. Chapter 3 presents the theoretical framework of the coupled transport processes of Soret, Dufour and Peltier through the Onsager’s reciprocity laws. The authors have missed the discussion on the Curie’s principle which states that the entities differing by odd tensorial rank will never interact and thus forbids the coupling of the heat and fluid flow, etc. Chemical reactions and molecular machines are discussed in Chapter 4. The topic will be stimulus on developing an analytical formalism of living organisms. The most modern aspects of the non-equilibrium thermodynamics is described in Chapter 5 under the title of Finite timet hermodynamics with reference to economics, ecology and solar heating and global warming. Finite time thermodynamics seeks to characterize in-principle the limits to the performance of thermodynamic processes given the constraint that such processes take place in a finite time which puts a bound on the heat engine.
The instability and pattern formations are the topics of current interest for researchers in nonlinear sciences. Many processes in nature are either convection dominant or diffusion dominant and these phenomena are well described in Chapter 6.
The recent developments in non-equilibrium thermodynamics are presented in the Chapters 7–11. Fourier’s law is valid only in the collision dominated regime but it looses validity when one approaches the ballistic regime. It does not provide satisfactory answers to the heat transfer processes in dielectric materials with nanoscale thickness and in tightly packed microelectoronic devices. The extended irreversible thermodynamics in Chapter 7 attempts to answer by distinguishing the regimes in several modes of heat transport: conduction, thermal waves and ballistic fronts and therefore modifying the transport equations combibing all these modes. B. D. Coleman and C. Truesdell attempted to define the concepts of state and the notions of energy and entropy in a framework of continuum mechanics and coined the topic as a rational thermodynamics. Chapter 9 illustrates the subject and deals with the mathematical theory of deformable solids with memory. Chapter 10 discusses on Hamiltonian in the form of the thermodynamic potentials in expressing the total energy and dissipations. The influence of internal structure on dynamics is discussed in Chapter 8 on theories with internal variables while the thermodynamics of fluctuations are described in Chapter 11 as mesoscopic thermodynamic descriptions.
Each chapter of the book is provided with the problems at the end to enable the readers to check their understanding of the subject and stimulate further interests on the subject. The up-to-date references at the end of the book are valuable for further studies on the subject.
The authors have done an excellent job in providing a clear, concise and well-presented description of the Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics. It is enjoyable to read such a book on this topic. The book may serve as a standard text for the students and researchers in physical sciences, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and chemical engineering and material sciences.