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Posted: **2008-01-17 05:45am**

After being pointed out that the very definition of the 2nd law of thermodynamics only applies to Isolated/closed systems. Seems to me he's redefining what closed and open systems are, but maybe I just fail to see what his point is

Your comments about the Second Law of Thermodynamics show that you don't know the law. One of the most powerful uses of the Second Law of Thermodynamics is that it predicts the direction of processes.

Clausius statement of Second Law of Thermodynamics:

"It is impossible for any system to operate in such a way that the sole result would be an energy transfer by heat from a cooler to a hotter body."

Does this apply to an open system? Let us see. If we apply our boundary around our system such that the energy crosses the boundary then yes it is an open system. If we apply our boundary around the energy sources then we have a nonequilibrium system. So we can say that this law applies to both open systems and nonequilibrium systems! I challenge you: what does "sole result" mean?

Posted: **2008-01-17 07:23am**

He doesn't even try to justify that the second law applies to an open system! What an idiot: he only gives the definition of an open system. So, consider a system consisting of a warm body, a cool body, and a heat pump connecting them. If you allow energy to enter the heat pump, you can pump heat from the cool body to the warm body, decreasing the temperature of the cool body and increasing the temperature of the warm body. Real life example: refrigerator. This is, of course, in violation of Clausius' statement of the second law.

Posted: **2008-01-17 12:00pm**

Got it

Posted: **2008-01-18 02:57am**

Sadly, he still doesn't get it.

But he said he needs to go away for a week. Maybe he's just running the fuck away

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

How do I tear this further apart?

How do I tear this further apart?