Croatica Chemica Acta, Vol. 78 No. 2, 2005.
Original scientific paper
Is the Stationary Current Distribution in a Linear Planar Electric Network Determined by the Principle of Maximum Entropy Production?
Srećko Botrić
Paško Županović
Davor Juretić
Abstract
The standard derivation of Kirchhoff’s voltage law is based on the assumption that the first law of thermodynamics (sum of products of applied EMF’s and corresponding currents = heat dissipation) is satisfied within each loop. In contrast, we start from the fact that first law of thermodynamics applies globally to the electric circuit as a whole. It is then shown that Kirchhoff’s voltage law may be derived as an extremum of the system entropy production constrained by
the first law applied globally, and that the extremum is a maximum. Thus the stationary distribution of currents in a linear electric circuit is governed by the principle of maximum entropy production.
Keywords
maximum entropy production; Kirchhoff’s voltage law
Hrčak ID:
11
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2005.
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