Boltzmann versus Gibbs, or how to account for irreversibility

Boltzmann versus Gibbs, or how to account for irreversibility

Speaker:
Drs Katinka Ridderbos, Wolfson College, Cambridge (UK).
Date:
February 27, 1998

In a number of recent papers, Lebowitz and others have argued that a statistical mechanical account of thermodynamic irreversibility should be formulated in terms of the Boltzmann entropy. I will point out a number of problems which have to be addressed before such an account can be considered complete. I will argue that solving these problems means a return to the Gibbs ensemble approach.


Last updated: Thursday, 15-Oct-1998 16:08:00 CEST