Nonequilibrium Process

in thermodynamics and statistical physics, a physical process in which a nonequilibrium state exists. Examples of nonequilibrium processes are (1) a process in which (thermodynamic or statistical) equilibrium is established in a system that was previously in a nonequilibrium state and (2) the transition of a system from an equilibrium state into a nonequilibrium state or from one nonequilibrium state into another under the influence of external perturbations. In open systems, nonequilibrium processes may occur as steady-state processes (processes in which the physical state of the system remains constant), for example, heat transfer by heat conduction at a constant temperature difference. Nonequilibrium processes are always irreversible processes, and such processes lead to an increase in entropy.

References in periodicals archive ?

Because of these large current densities, electrical transport in nanoscale systems is usually a nonequilibrium process, and there is a large influence of electron-electron and electron-ion interactions.

The interaction of radio-frequency fields with dielectric materials at macroscopic to mesoscopic scales

However, episodic migration is a nonequilibrium process in which mixture effects could be relevant for determining the population-level impacts of differential fertilization capacities.

Differential fertilization success between two populations of eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica

Other subjects discussed include topological origins of the coupling constants hierarchy, semiclassical dynamics of black holes, black hole evaporation as a nonequilibrium process, and the dynamics of anisotropic universes.

Classical and quantum gravity research

Self-organization in complex adaptive systems unfolds, not as some equilibrium-disequilibrium-equilibrium sequence but as a coherent nonequilibrium process with varying structural stability properties.

IS THERE A ROLE FOR TRANSACTION COST ECONOMICS IF WE VIEW FIRMS AS COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS?