Friction force: from mechanics to thermodynamics

Christian Ferrari
Liceo di Locarno,
Via F. Chiesa 15, CH-6600 Locarno, Switzerland

Christian Gruber
Institut de Théorie des Phénomènes Physiques,
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,
CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
(Dated: July 1st , 2010. Accepted for European Journal of Physics)
We study some mechanical problems in which a friction force is acting on the system. Using the
fundamental concepts of state, time evolution and energy conservation we explain how to extend
Newtonian mechanics to thermodynamics. We arrive at the two laws of thermodynamics and then
apply them to investigate time evolution and heat transfer of some significant examples.

I. INTRODUCTION namics. In particular, following Stückelberg, we formu-

It is well known that thermodynamics was first devel-
oped by Carnot in 1824 to study the production and the
transport of heat1 . However since the axiomatic work of
Carathéodory in 1909 on equilibrium thermodynamics2 ,
also called thermostatics, one has very often considered
thermodynamics as a theory restricted either to equilib-
rium states or transformations from one equilibrium state
to another equilibrium state. Since 1960 Stückelberg has
consistently presented thermodynamics in a way sim-
ilar to mechanics, i.e. as a phenomenological theory
with time evolution described by first order differential
equations3 . In his approach “energy” and “entropy” are
extensive state functions introduced in the first and sec-
ond law of thermodynamics. Furthermore the second law
consists of two parts, one related to the time evolution of
general systems and the other to the approach to equi-
librium for isolated systems. By analogy with classical
mechanics, where one starts with the study of a point
particle to investigate then a finite number of interacting
point particles and finally arrives at continuous systems,
Stückelberg starts his study of thermodynamics by con-
sidering simple systems, which he calls “element of sys-
tem”, for which the state can be entirely described by
only one non-mechanical, or thermal, variable – the “en-
tropy” whose existence is postulated in the second law –
together with the mechanical variables. He then consid-
ers general systems made of a finite or infinite number
of interacting simple systems. In such an approach ther-
mostatics appears as a special chapter of thermodynam-
ics just as statics appears as a special chapter in text-
books on mechanics. Moreover it should be stressed that
mechanics appears as a special case of thermodynamics
where the mechanical observables are decoupled from the
thermal ones.
In this paper we illustrate Stückelberg’s approach with
some simple mechanical systems submitted to friction
force. Using the structural properties discussed below,
and assuming the conservation of energy, we show how
one is lead to extend mechanics to arrive at thermody-
late the first and second law as time evolution described
by first order differential equations. These examples will
be used to illustrate the evolution of mechanical systems
in the presence of friction taking into account the thermo-
dynamical aspects, since it is well known that the temper-
ature increases as soon as friction is introduced. Previous
analysis in similar directions have been done4–8 . They
differ from our approach in which we use observables de-
fined at each instant of time and we use time dependent
formalism to describe the time evolution. Moreover we
explicitly introduce the entropy concept and arrive at the
second law of thermodynamics.
It is well known that a classical physical system is char-
acterized by its observables, its state and the time evo-
lution. These three concepts are structural, in the sense
that they can be defined in many branches of physics.
The observables are those physical quantities chosen by
one observer to study the system. The state at time t
represents the information hold by the observer on the
possible values of those observables at time t. The time
evolution yields the state at time t knowing the state
at some initial time t0 together with the action of the
outside on the system at all times. In the following we
consider only pure states, i.e. the state at time t gives
the precise value of each observable at this time.
Let us present the main ideas of our work. We as-
sume that for every physical system there is an observ-
able, called the energy, which is conserved. This means
that the numerical value of this observable remains con-
stant whenever the system is either isolated from the out-
side or submitted to passive forces only, i.e. forces which
do not produce work, sometimes called zero-work force4 .
Example of passive forces are those forces whose appli-
cation point does not move, such as the force exerted on
particles by an ideal fixed wall, or those forces which are
always perpendicular to the velocity such as the force
exerted by a magnetic field on an electric charge, or a
perfect constraint on the motion. In other words this
assumption implies that the only way to change the en-
ergy of the system is by an action from the outside. In
mechanics it follows from Newton’s definition in the Prin-
 2

cipia that the only way the outside can act on the system thermodynamics is valid even when work is done against
and change its state is by means of “force”. Looking at friction forces.
the system from a mechanical point of view, in particu-
lar assuming that the only action of the outside on the
system is by means of force, it is immediately clear that II. THE FRICTIONLESS PROBLEM
mechanical energy is not a conserved observable when
friction forces are present. Therefore to have an observ- The system Σ is the union of a solid Σ1 moving on a
able energy which is conserved we are forced to introduce solid Σ2 , which is maintained fixed by means of some ap-
a new form of energy, namely the internal energy, and plied force, as represented in figure 1. This force is thus
the energy appears as the sum of the mechanical and passive and has no effect on the energy of the system
the internal energy (recall that the mechanical energy (although it has of course the effect that momentum is
is the sum of several contributions which appear in the not constant). The two subsystems interact by means of
form of kinetic and potential energies). Then one finds some internal conservative force F~ 1→2 = −F~ 2→1 (which
that to define the state of the system we need new non- is represented by a massless spring in figure 1) and we
mechanical, or thermodynamical, variables. Assuming assume that there is no friction force between the two
the simplest case where it is sufficient to introduce only solids, or with air. The mechanical state of Σ1 and
one thermodynamical variable, we take the entropy and Σ2 is given by their position ~xi and their momentum
arrive at the second law of thermodynamics: for an adi- ~pi (i = 1, 2). Since Σ2 is at rest its mechanical state
abatically closed system the entropy can never decrease. (~x2 , ~p2 = ~0) does not change in time. Thus the state of
Now that we have reached the conclusion that thermo- the total system Σ can be described by (~x1 , p ~1 ) ≡ (~x, p~)
dynamical variables are needed to define the state we are of the moving solid.
then led to conclude that it is possible for the outside to To be explicit let us consider the special, but not restric-
act on those variables to change the state of the system,
tive, case where the force F~ 2→1 is given by an elastic force
in particular its energy, without any force; this leads to
the concept of heat power, or quantity of heat delivered of the form F~el = −k~x where k is a positive constant.
to the system from the outside per unit of time: it is Next we describe the time evolution, which follows
positive if the system receives heat and negative if the from Newton’s second law and his definition of momen-
system gives heat to the outside. Of course in more gen- tum, p~ = m~v , where m is the mass of Σ1 . Newton’s
eral cases it will not be the only new contribution to the equations are
energy; for example if we consider a car accelerating on d~x p~
an horizontal road it will be necessary to introduce a new = (1a)
dt m
form of energy, the chemical energy, new state variables,
d~p
the number of moles of each elements, and new actions = F~el . (1b)
of the outside on the system, i.e. the transfer of matter dt
from the outside; in other examples we will be led to in- This is a system of first order differential equations that
troduce other forms of energy such as nuclear energy and allows to calculate the state at every instant t knowing
relativistic rest energy. the state (~x0 , ~p0 ) at some instant t0 (the initial data)
In section II we present a simple frictionless mechanical and the force F~el : it is the determinism principle. Note
problem. In section III we consider the more general case that ~x and p~ are two independent variables which vary
in which friction is present and we extend the mechanical periodically.
scenario to a more general one leading to thermodynam- We finally switch to some energy consideration. From
ics. Section IV is devoted to significant example that can (1a) and (1b) we get
be easily calculated and in which we can get an insight
about energy transfer between two bodies in the presence dE1kin
of friction forces. Moreover we calculate the time evolu- = F~el · ~v (2)
dt
tion of the temperature, of the entropy, and the heat
transfer per unit of time between two bodies. where E1kin = 1 2
with v = |~v | and since Σ2 is fixed
2 mv
This work is inspired from9 and a complete description dE2kin
= 0. From F~el = −k~x = −∇E pot , it follows that
of this formalism can be found in the original work of dt
Stückelberg and Scheurer3 . It is intended for undergrad- F~el is conservative, and we have
uates with some knowledge of equilibrium thermodynam-
ics as well as for all those believing that thermodynamics dE1kin dE pot
= −∇E pot · ~v = − . (3)
is restricted to equilibrium states. As we have personally dt dt
experienced, the explicit connection between mechanics We thus have conservation of the mechanical energy
and thermodynamics used in the paper can provide a sig- E mec = E1kin + E2kin + E pot , i.e.
nificant improvement in the teaching of thermodynamics
in the time dependent approach with frictional forces. dE mec
Moreover, this approach clearly shows that the first law of =0. (4)
dt
 3

III. FRICTION, INTERNAL ENERGY AND The evolution is described by Newton’s equations
ENTROPY
d~x p~
= (7a)
If all the active forces (i.e. those which produce work) dt m
are conservative the mechanical energy, i.e. kinetic plus d~p
= F~el + F~fr (7b)
potential energy, is conserved. This means that the me- dt
chanical energy can be modified only by some external d~
p
action on the system. This conservation of mechanical if p~ 6= ~0 or p~ = ~0 and |F~el | > Ffr,max , otherwise dt = ~0.
energy is a fundamental property since, using Noether’s Therefore
theorem10 , one can show that it is associated with the dE mec
temporal invariance of physical laws. Moreover using the = P (nc) (8)
dt
fact that at the microscopic level all forces are conser-
vative, we want to assume that at the macroscopic level where P (nc) = F~fr · ~v , the power associated with the non
there always exists an extensive state function, the en- conservative friction force, is strictly negative if v is non
ergy E, which is a conserved quantity. Therefore, assum- zero. Therefore
ing that the only way the outside can act on the system
is by means of forces, we should have P (nc) = −λv ≤ 0 (9)
dE ext and the mechanical energy is not conserved. In fact using
= PW (5)
dt (8) and (9), the mechanical energy in the equilibrium
where PW ext
is the power developed by the external forces state (~x1 , p~1 = ~0) will be strictly smaller than in the
acting on the system. initial state (~x0 6= ~0, p~0 = ~0).
ext
The assumption (5) is the first law of thermodynamics For our assumption (5) to be valid (with PW = 0), we
for adiabatically closed systems, i.e. those systems where have to assume that there exists some state function U ,
the only external actions on the system are by means of called internal energy of the whole system Σ, such that
forces. if v 6= 0
Let us consider the situation represented in figure 1. dU
= −P (nc) . (10)
dt
p0 = ~0
~ Σ
Only in this case will we be able to conclude that there
Σ2
Σ1
is conservation of energy E defined by

E = E mec + U . (11)
O ~x0
If such a function exists we shall be able to conclude that
in the equilibrium state (~x1 , ~p1 = 0), part of the initial
potential energy has been converted into internal energy,
FIG. 1. The solid Σ1 moves on a fixed solid Σ2 subjected to U1 − U0 = E0pot − E1pot , but the total energy is constant
a friction force and to an elastic force. The initial mechanical E1 = E0 .
state of Σ is (~x0 6= ~0, p
~0 = ~0). In a second step, see figure 2, we want to restore the
system Σ in its initial mechanical state (~x0 6= ~0, p
~0 = ~0).
~
To do so we have to apply an external force Fext .
The total system Σ is identical to that studied in the
previous section, but now the solid Σ1 is also subjected
~1 = ~0
p Σ
to the dissipative force F~fr arising from the friction on the
Σ2 ~ext
F
surface of Σ2 . After Σ1 is released from a non-equilibrium Σ1
state (~x0 6= ~0, p~0 = ~0), it will have damped oscillations
until it reaches an equilibrium state (~x1 , p~1 = ~0). ~x
O 1
We can assume, as usual for solid friction, that this
friction force is given by
(  
F~fr = −λv̂ if v 6= 0 v̂ = |~~vv|
(6) FIG. 2. In a second step, after the system has reached the
|F~fr | ≤ Ffr,max if v = 0 mechanical equilibrium (~x1 , p ~ext
~1 = ~0), an external force F
is applied to the system Σ1 to recover the initial mechanical
where λ = λ(~x, p~) is strictly positive. configuration (~x0 6= ~0, p
~0 = ~0).
 4

The evolution of the mechanical state is given by New- We now want to investigate the time evolution of the
ton’s equations state (~x, ~p, S). From (17) we have

d~x p~ dE d~
p d~x ∂E dS
= (12a) = ∇p~ E + ∇E + . (19)
dt m dt dt dt ∂S dt
d~p
= F~el + F~fr + F~ext (12b) Using Newton’s equations (12a) and (12b) for d~
x
and d~
p
dt dt dt ,
together with
which implies
p~ ∂E
dE mec ∇p~ E = , ∇E = −F~el , =T (20)
= P (nc) + F~ext · ~v . (13) m ∂S
dt
we obtain
Therefore with our assumption (10) we obtain the desired
result dE p~ p~ dS
= · (F~el + F~fr + F~ext ) − F~el · +T . (21)
dt m m dt
dE ext
= PW , (14) Therefore, from (14) and (21), we have
dt
with dE p~ dS
ext
= PW = · (F~fr + F~ext ) + T , (22)
dt m dt
ext
PW = F~ext · ~v (15)
ext
and with the definition PW = F~ext · ~v we obtain
i.e. the basic assumption (5) is satisfied.
However, since E1 = E0 , we note that the work done dS 1 p~ 1 p
by the external force, = − F~fr · = λ ≥0. (23)
dt T m T m
Z t2
ext ext
where p = |~p|. This last equation is the second law of
W = PW (t)dt = E2 − E1 = E2 − E0 = U2 − U0 thermodynamics for adiabatically closed systems. The
t1
(16) non-negative state function
is always strictly positive and thus U2 > U0 . 1 p
In conclusion, if we want to assume that U , and thus E, I(~x, ~p, S) = λ (24)
are state functions, the fact that the original and final T m
mechanical states are identical but U2 6= U0 forces us to is called entropy production and characterizes irreversible
introduce new non-mechanical state variables to distin- processes.
guish the final state from the original one. Therefore the The time evolution of Σ is then given by the ODE
state of the system Σ must be described by (~x, p
~) together
with some non-mechanical state variables. d~x p~
= (25a)
The simplest case is the one where it is sufficient to dt m
introduce just one non-mechanical variable. We could d~p λ
chose the temperature since we observe that the system = −k~x − p̂ + F~ext (25b)
dt m
becomes warmer, or the internal energy which we were dS 1 λ
led to introduce. We prefer to introduce a new observable = p (25c)
dt Tm
S, called the entropy, which will be specified below (see
(18)). In this simplest case the state of the system Σ is if p~ 6= ~0 or p~ = ~0 and | − k~x(t) + F~ext | > Ffr,max (in the
described by (~x, p~, S). Explicitly the dependence of the latter case − m λ
p̂ has to be replaced by the static solid
energy on the state variables is
friction force), otherwise d~ p ~
dt = 0 and thus p ~ = ~0.
E(~x, p~, S) = E kin (~
p, S) + E pot (~x, S) + U (S) . (17) The friction coefficient λ = λ(~x, p~, S), the spring con-
stant k = k(S) and the inertial mass m = m(S) should
We shall choose the entropy S in such a way that the be defined from experiments.
state function We observe that the two equations (25a) and (25b), that
characterize the mechanical problem, are now coupled
∂E with the new one (25c), which is related to thermody-
T = (18)
∂S namics. In general k, λ, m do not depend very strongly
on S (or equivalently on temperature). If this depen-
can be identified with the absolute temperature of Σ, dence can be neglected we can solve (25a) and (25b) in-
since in an equilibrium state the temperature is defined dependently of the thermodynamic equation (25c). This
by (18). The internal energy U must be a function of justifies the study of friction in mechanics without taking
S, while the mass, the potential energy, and the fric- into account the thermodynamical aspect.
tion coefficient could be functions of S, m = m(S), Up to now, the only external action on the system was
E pot = 21 k(S)x2 , and λ = λ(~x, ~p, S).
by means of external forces acting on the state variable
 5

ext
~x and expressed by PW (see (15)). Having introduced We assume that experiments have shown that the masses
a new variable S we can now introduce a new type of and the friction torque λ are positive constants and the
external action which can modify S and thus the energy internal energy of the solid Σi is given by Ui = 3ni RTi ,
without changing ~x or ~p. This action can be considered where ni is the number of moles of Σi (i = 1, 2). Follow-
as acting on the microscopic variables which have dis- ing the discussion of section III we assume that the state
appeared at the macroscopical level to be replaced by of the system is entirely described by only one thermody-
the single variable S. We express this external action by namical variable, which implies that the state is described
PQext , the heat power, which is the heat transferred from by only one temperature T , i.e. we are thus assuming
the outside per unit time. We now have that both cylinders are at all times at the same temper-
ature T = T1 = T2 . (The more general case where the
dE ext two cylinders have different temperatures is discussed in
= PW + PQext (26)
dt D). Since the energy is an extensive variable, the internal
energy of the whole system Σ is thus U = 3(n1 + n2 )RT .
which is the first law of thermodynamics for closed sys-
Under the above conditions we have for the whole sys-
tems (i.e. systems that do not exchange matter).
tem Σ conservation of angular momentum
To discover the effect of PQext on the entropy we observe
that from (21), (24) and (15) we obtain 0 = Fext R − λ (29)
p dS and the first law of thermodynamics (26) writes as
PQext = −λ +T (27)
m dt
dE ext
that is from (24) = PW , (30)
dt
dS 1
= I + PQext I≥0. (28) where PW ext
= F~ext · ~v = λω where |~v | = ωR. Since
dt T themec
angular velocity of Σ1 is constant and Σ2 is fixed,
dE
This last equation is the second law of thermodynamics dt = 0 and (30) imply
for closed system, with I, the entropy production, which
is a non negative state function3 . dU
= λω , (31)
To conclude this section we remark that the non- dt
negative term −F~fr · ~v = mλ
p is usually called dissipa-
therefore
tive power and in this example the entropy production is
I = T1 P dis . dT
3(n1 + n2 )R = λω (32)
dt
IV. EXAMPLE Note that we can apply the first law of thermodynamics
(26) to Σ1 and Σ2 separately. For Σ1 we have
We consider the system described by figure 3, where the dE1
cylinder Σ2 is fixed and the cylinder Σ1 can rotate around = PQ2→1 + PWext 2→1
+ PW (33)
its axes which is vertical. Passive external forces are ap- dt | {z }
=0
plied to maintain fixed Σ2 and the axis of Σ1 . A constant
horizontal external force F~ext acts on the cylinder Σ1 and which gives
we shall discuss the stationary mechanical state when the
angular velocity ~ω is constant. The radius of the cylin- dU1
= PQ2→1 (34)
ders is R. dt
and thus with (32)
~ext
F dT n1
Σ1 PQ2→1 = 3n1 R = λω . (35)
dt n1 + n2
For Σ2 we have
dE2
Σ2 = PQ1→2 + PW
1→2
(36)
dt
which gives
FIG. 3. The solid Σ1 turns on a solid Σ2 and is subjected to
a friction force, an external force is applied to Σ1 such that it dU2
= PQ1→2 + PW
1→2
= PQ1→2 + λω . (37)
turns with constant angular velocity. dt
dU1 dU2
Therefore, from dE
dt = dt + dt
ext
= PW ext
and PW = λω
we conclude that
n1
PQ1→2 = −PQ2→1 = − λω . (38)
n1 + n2
 6

Finally, where we used the fact no work is done by Σ3 on Σ̃2 and

3→2 2→3
thus PW = PW = 0. But, using Newton’s third law,
dE1 n1 dE2 n2 1→3
PW = λω = PW ext
. Since U3 is proportional to ε, in the
= λω and = λω .
dt n1 + n2 dt n1 + n2 limit ε → 0 we have U3 → 0 and Ũ2 → U2 , and thus in
(39) this limit
Let us note that (38) and (39), together with (18) im-
ply 1→3
0 = PW + PQ1→3 + PQ2→3 . (50)
dS1 1
= PQ2→1 (40) Moreover the equation
dt T
dS2 1 λω dE dU1 dŨ2 dU3
= I + PQ1→2 with I= > 0 (41) ext
PW = = + +
dt T T dt dt dt dt (51)
dS
=I (42) = PQ + PQ + PW + PQ1→3 + PQ2→3
3→1 3→2 1→3
dt
which are the expression of the second law (28) applied together with (50) gives finally
to the subsystems Σ1 , Σ2 and the whole system Σ which ext
is adiabatically closed. PW = PQ3→1 + PQ3→2 . (52)
We now address the question of time evolution. From
We see that the external work power given to the system
(32) the temperature time evolution is given by
appears as heat power at the interface, which is then dis-
λω tributed to the two subsystems Σ1 and Σ2 in proportion
T (t) = T0 + t. (43) to their number of moles
3(n1 + n2 )R
dT ni
Since by definition ∂E
= T we have, in this example, PQ3→i = 3ni R = P ext (i = 1, 2) . (53)
∂S dt n1 + n2 W
∂E dU dT Others examples are given in the appendices.
T = = = 3(n1 + n2 )R (44)
∂S dS dS
and thus the entropy is related to the temperature by the V. CONCLUSIONS
function
T Applying the idea of state and time evolution, together
S = S0 + 3 (n1 + n2 ) R ln
T0 with the basic assumption of energy conservation, to sim-
(45) ple examples we have shown that one is naturally led
U
= S0 + 3 (n1 + n2 ) R ln . from mechanics to thermodynamics. This can be used
U0
to study mechanical problems with friction from a more
We finally obtain the time evolution for the entropy of general point of view. In particular the second law, the
the system production of entropy, and the question of heat transfer
can be discussed in the time dependent thermodynamic
T (t) approach such as developed by Stückelberg3 .
S(t) = S0 + 3(n1 + n2 )R ln
T0 Moreover, this formalism can be applied to many top-
 λω  ics in thermodynamics, in particular to those that cannot
= S0 + 3(n1 + n2 )R ln 1 + t . be analyzed with the equilibrium thermodynamics11 ; as
3(n1 + n2 )RT0
(46) we show in the appendices with the solid friction example
We observe that the total entropy S(t) is an increasing the second law of thermostatics is not always satisfied.
function of time. Since the system Σ is adiabatically
closed (PQext = 0) this is once more the second law of
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
thermodynamics.
To gain some more insight into this example we con-
sider Σ2 as Σ̃2 ∪ Σ3 where the subsystem Σ3 is defined The authors would like to thanks Professor Patrik Fer-
by the surface of Σ2 whose height is ε ≪ 1. rari and Professor Philippe Martin for stimulating discus-
We now apply the first law of thermodynamics to these sions and valuable comments, and the anonymous referee
three subsystems of Eur. J. Phys. for a careful review and constructive
comments.
dU1 ext 3→1
= PW + PW +PQ3→1 , (47)
dt | {z }
=0 Appendix A: Viscous friction
dŨ2
= PQ3→2 , (48)
dt We consider the system illustrated in figure 4. The
dU3 1→3 solid Σ1 , whose mass is m, is subjected to a viscous fric-
= PW + PQ1→3 + PQ2→3 , (49)
dt tion force F~fr = −λ~v and an elastic force F~el = −k~x;
 7

where we assume that m, λ and k are positive constants. and thus the entropy is related to the temperature by the
Moreover the internal energy of Σ1 is supposed to be function
given by U1 = 3n1 RT1 with n1 its number of moles.
T
To simplify the analysis Σ2 is modeled as a monoatomic S = S0 + 3 n1 + 12 n2 R ln
ideal gas with internal energy U2 = 32 n2 RT2 and fixed T0
(A5)
volume and mole number n2 . The only action of the 1

U
= S0 + 3 n1 + 2 n2 R ln
outside on the system is the passive force maintaining U0
fixed the cylinder containing the ideal gas. Since we as-
sume that the state is entirely described by only one Therefore to obtain the evolution of the entropy S(t),
thermodynamical variable S, together with ~x and p~ of we shall first find the evolution of the temperature T (t).
Σ1 , both the solid and the fluid are at all time at the Under the above conditions and (A1c) we have
same temperature T = T1 = T2 . Moreover since energy  p 2
dU
dT dU dS dS
is an extensive observable the system’s energy is thus = 3 n1 + 12 n2 R = =T =λ
E = 12 mv 2 + 12 kx2 + (3n1 + 23 n2 )RT . dt dt dS dt dt m
(A6)
The initial condition for the mechanical state is ~x0 6= ~0 from which we obtain the time evolution for the temper-
and p~0 = m~v0 6= ~0, we also assume that κ = 2m λ
and ature
q
k
ω0 = m are such that κ < ω0 . 1
T (t) = T0 +
f (t) (A7)
3 n1 + 12 n2 R
Σ1
~fr
F with
~el
F
1 λ
f (t) = 12 mv02 + 12 kx20 − e− m t
Σ2 2(4km − λ2 )
h
FIG. 4. The solid Σ1 moves in an ideal gas Σ2 and is subjected × 4km(mv02 + λv0 x0 + kx20 )
(A8)
to a viscous friction force and to an elastic force.
− λ(v02 λm + 4v0 mkx0 + λkx20 ) cos(2ωt)
i
− λ(mv02 − kx20 )(4km − λ2 )1/2 sin(2ωt) .
The ODE giving the time evolution of the state
(~x, ~p, S) is
which gives the entropy time evolution
d~x p~ !
= (A1a)
1
dt m S(t) = S0 +3 n1 + 1
R ln 1 + f (t)
2 n2 .


d~p λ 3 n1 + 12 n2 RT0
= −k~x − ~p (A1b)
dt m (A9)
dS 1  p 2 The equilibrium point of the ODE (A1a)–(A1c) is
= λ (A1c)
dt T m given by ~x = ~0 and p~ = ~0 and this corresponds to the
state obtained in the limit t → ∞, i.e. the system evolves
where p = |~p|. to the equilibrium point of the ODE. In this limit the en-
Since m, λ and k are constant we can solve New- tropy tends to
ton’s equations (A1a) and (A1b). The time evolution


of thepposition is thus given by the damped oscillations Seq = lim S(t) = S0 + 3 n1 + 12 n2 R
(ω = ω02 − κ2 ) t→∞


!
3 n1 + 12 n2 RT0 + 12 mv02 + 21 kx20 (A10)
  × ln .
v0 + κx0 1


3 n1 + 2 n2 RT0
x(t) = e−κt x0 cos(ωt) + sin(ωt) (A2)
ω

while the time evolution of the momentum is given by Note that 12 mv02 + 12 kx20 = −∆E mec = ∆U .
We remark that in this example the second law of ther-
    mostatics is satisfied, i.e. an isolated system evolves to-
v0 + κx0
p(t) = me−κt v0 cos(ωt) − κ + x0 ω sin(ωt) . ward an equilibrium state which is a maximum of the
ω
(A3) entropy under the condition that the energy is fixed by
As in section IV, using the definition ∂E the initial condition. Indeed
∂S = T we have,
in this example,


E − ( 12 mv 2 + 12 kx2 )

S = S0 + 3 n1 + 12 n2 R ln
∂E dU dT U0
T = = = 3(n1 + 12 n2 )R (A4) (A11)
∂S dS dS
and the maximum of S under the condition that
E = 21 mv02 + 12 kx20 + U0 is given by the solution of (A12)
 8

and (A13) Therefore from (B3) and (B6) we obtain

∂S 3 n1 + 12 n2 RU0 dE1 n2
=− kx = 0 (A12) =− λv (B7)
∂x E − ( 12 mv 2 + 12 kx2 ) dt n1 + n2

dE2 n2
∂S 3 n1 + 21 n2 RU0 = λv . (B8)
= mv = 0 , (A13) dt n1 + n2
∂v E − ( 12 mv 2 + 12 kx2 )
The subsystem Σ1 looses λv kinetic energy per unit
i.e. x = 0, v = 0 and E = U = 3(n1 + 12 n2 )RT . Therefore time due to the friction work power and gains n1n+n 1
λv
2
Seq of equation (A10) is the maximum of S under the internal energy per unit of time due to the heat power
condition E = E0 = E(t0 ). Moreover this maximum of received from the subsystem Σ2 . Therefore its total en-
the entropy gives the equilibrium state. ergy E1 decreases per unit of time by − n1n+n 2
2
λv. The
subsystem Σ2 gains λv as work power due to the force of
Σ1 to Σ2 , but looses a quantity n1n+n
1
2
λv as heat power
Appendix B: Solid friction with F~el = ~0 to Σ1 . Therefore its total energy E2 increase per unit of
time by n1n+n
2
2
λv.
We consider a solid Σ1 sliding on a fixed solid Σ2 (see We now address the question of time evolution. From
figure 1 without the spring and ~p0 6= ~0). The only ac- Newton’s equation
tion of the outside on the system is the passive force
dv
maintaining fixed the solid Σ2 . We assume that the solid m = −λ if v > 0 (B9)
friction is given by (6), and that the temperatures of dt
both systems are always equal T1 = T2 = T (i.e. only we have for v0 > 0
one thermodynamical variable is needed to describe the (
state of the system), while the internal energy of Σi is v(t) = v0 − λ
for 0 ≤ t ≤ mv
mt
0
λ (B10)
given by Ui = 3ni RTi (i = 1, 2). Since energy is an ex- v(t) = 0 for t ≥ mv
λ .
0
tensive observable U = 3(n1 + n2 )RT . We assume that
experiments have shown that m the mass of Σ1 and λ
From (B2) and the expression of v(t) follow that the
the friction coefficient are constant.
time evolution of temperature is given by
Applying the first law of thermodynamics (26) (with
ext
PW = 0, PQext = 0) to the whole system we have λ

1λ 2

T (t) = T0 + v0 t − t , (B11)
3(n1 + n2 )R 2m
dE dE1kin dU
= + =0 (B1)
dt dt dt for 0 ≤ t ≤ mv 1 m 2
λ , and T (t) = T0 + 3(n1 +n2 )R 2 v0 for
0

dE1kin t ≥ mv
λ .
0

but dt
2→1
= PW = F~fr · ~v = −λv where v = |~v |, thus Using (45) we find the time evolution for the entropy, for
0 ≤ t ≤ mvλ
0
dU dT
= 3(n1 + n2 )R = λv . (B2) !
dt dt
λ(v0 t − 12 m
λ 2
t )
S(t) = S0 + 3(n1 + n2 )R ln 1 + .
Then, applying the first law of thermodynamics (26) to 3(n1 + n2 )RT0
2→1
the two subsystems, together with PW = −λv and (B12)
1→2
PW = λv, we have and for t ≥ mv 0
λ
dE1 dE1kin dU1  1 
= + = PQ2→1 − λv (B3a) 2
2 mv0
dt dt dt S(t) = S0 + 3(n1 + n2 )R ln 1 + .
dE2 dU2 3(n1 + n2 )RT0
= = PQ1→2 + λv (B3b) (B13)
dt dt We observe that S(t) is a strictly increasing function of
and thus time, which is the second law for the adiabatically closed
dU1 system Σ.
= PQ2→1 (B4) From (45) and 12 mv 2 + U = E = E0 we have
dt
dU2  
= PQ1→2 + λv . (B5) E − 12 mv 2
dt S = S0 + 3(n1 + n2 )R ln (B14)
U0
From the energy conservation (B1), together with the as-
sumption that both systems are at the same temperature Therefore the maximum of S under the condition that
and thus from (B2), dU dT ni
dt = 3ni R dt = n1 +n2 λv, it follows
i E = E0 is fixed gives v = 0 and Smax is thus equal to the
that value of the entropy at equilibrium. Again we recover in
n1 this example the second law of thermostatics, but this
PQ2→1 = −PQ1→2 = λv . (B6) law does not give the equilibrium position: to obtain the
n1 + n2
equilibrium position we have to solve the time evolution
(B9) together with dx
dt = v.
 9


~el =
Appendix C: Solid friction with F 6 ~0 Observe that k2 x20 − x2eq is the decrease of potential
energy −∆E pot = ∆U . Note that in this example the
We consider the situation used in section III to build second law of thermostatics stated in A is not satisfied.
the thermodynamic laws (see figure 1), where one ther- Indeed the maximum of the entropy under the condi-
modynamical variable S is sufficient to describe the state, tion that E = E0 is fixed gives v = 0 and x = 0 which
and we assume that m, λ, and k are constant. We shall is not the equilibrium state as one can see by solving
consider that the internal energy of both solids is given explicitly the time evolution equation. Once more solid
by Ui = 3ni RT , with ni the number of moles in solid i friction give examples where to find the equilibrium state
(i = 1, 2) and, since energy is an extensive observable, we have to solve explicitly the time evolution and it is not
for the total system Σ we thus have U = 3(n1 + n2 )RT . possible to apply a maximum entropy condition. This sit-
We have to solve the ODE giving the time evolution of uation is analogous to the well known “adiabatic piston
the state (~x, p~, S) when the only action from the outside problem”11,12 .
is the passive force keeping fixed the solid Σ2 (equations
(25a)–(25c) with F~ext = ~0). We suppose that the initial
F Appendix D: A first generalization of section IV
mechanical state is given by (~x0 , p~0 ) with x0 > fr,max k
and p0 = 0. Explicitly (25b) writes as
In all previous examples we have assumed that the
(
d~p F~el + F~fr if p~ 6= ~0 or p~ = ~0 and |F~el | > Ffr,max state of the whole system was described by only one
= thermodynamical variable, which implies in particular
dt 0 otherwise that the temperatures of both subsystems are equal at
(C1) all time. We now drop this condition and we assume
~ ~ λ ~
with Fel = −k~x and Ffr = − m p̂ if p~ 6= 0. Note that that both solids are described by one thermodynamical
because of (C1) it is not possible to find the equilibrium variable, which is either the temperature T1 , T2 , or the
state without integrating the system of ODE. Therefore internal energy U1 , U2 , or the entropy S1 , S2 . The re-
to find the equilibrium position xeq we have to solve ex- lation between the entropy and the temperature is given
plicitly the time evolution, which is straightforward and for each solid by (45).
gives in general xeq 6= 0. We then investigate the time We consider first the system described in section IV in
evolution of the entropy. the case where F~ ext = ~0 and ~ω = ~0. We have
Since the evolution was derived from energy conser-
vation we obtain immediately the time evolution for the dU
=0 (D1)
temperature. Indeed from E mec (t) + U (t) = E0mec + U0 , dt
i.e.
for the whole system, and from (18) and (26) for the two
1 1 1 subsystems
mv(t)2 + kx(t)2 + U (t) = kx20 + U0 (C2)
2 2 2 dU1 dS1
= T1 = PQ2→1 (D2)
and U = 3(n1 + n2 )RT , we have dt dt
dU2 dS2
1 1  2 m  = T2 = PQ1→2 (D3)
T (t) = T0 + k x0 − x(t)2 − v(t)2 . dt dt
3(n1 + n2 )R 2 k
(C3) which implies PQ2→1 + PQ2→1 = 0.
The time evolution for the entropy S(t) is then given by Since entropy is an extensive observable S = S1 + S2 , we
(45) and (C3), i.e. thus obtain
 

! dS 1 1
E0 − 12 mv(t)2 − 12 kx(t)2 =I= − PQ2→1 . (D4)
S(t) = S0 +3(n1 +n2 )R ln dt T1 T2
U0
(C4) Using the second law of thermodynamics (28), and the
Once more this example shows that the entropy of the fact that the absolute temperature is positive, we are led
isolated system is an increasing function of time as pos- to conclude that there exists a positive state function
tulated in the second law of thermodynamics. κ = κ(T1 , T2 ), called heat conductivity, such that
At equilibrium we will have
PQ2→1 = κ(T2 − T1 ) . (D5)
1 k 2
Teq = T0 + (x − x2eq ) , (C5) We thus have
3(n1 + n2 )R 2 0
dT1
and 3n1 R = κ(T2 − T1 ) (D6)
dt
 1  dT2
2k 3n2 R = −κ(T2 − T1 ) . (D7)


Seq = S0 +3(n1 +n2 )R ln 1 + x20 − x2eq . dt
3(n1 + n2 )RT0
(C6)
 10

Since experiment shows that κ depends very slightly on where C is a constant defined from experiments. The
the temperatures, assuming κ to be constant we find irreversibility state function is thus given by

T2 (t) − T1 (t) = (T2,0 − T1,0 )e−At , (D8) 1 1 κ

I= Cλω + (1 − C)λω + (T2 − T1 )2 (D18)
T1 T2 T1 T2
and then the time evolution for the temperatures
and the non negative condition of I implies that
n2

T1 (t) = T1,0 + (T2,0 − T1,0 ) 1 − e−At (D9) C ∈ [0, 1]. (In (38) C = n1n+n 1
but this will imply
n1 + n2 2
that the temperatures remain equal if they were initially
n1

T2 (t) = T2,0 − (T2,0 − T1,0 ) 1 − e−At (D10) equal.) The equations (D14), (D15) and (D16) are the
n1 + n2 expression of the second law of thermodynamics (28) ap-
where plied to the subsystems Σ1 , Σ2 and to the whole system
  Σ which is adiabatically closed.
1 1 κ We now have
A= + . (D11)
n1 n2 3R dT1 C κ
= λω + (T2 − T1 ) (D19)
Finally, in the limit t → ∞ we obtain, as expected, the dt 3n1 R 3n1 R
thermal equilibrium i.e. T1 = T2 . In this case the second dT2 1−C κ
= λω − (T2 − T1 ) . (D20)
law of thermostatics is satisfied. dt 3n2 R 3n2 R
Consider finally the example of section IV without the
Assuming that the angular velocity ω and the heat con-
assumption that both solids have the same temperature.
ductivity κ are constants, we obtain
Since the mass is constant we now have
dU1 dS1 T2 (t) − T1 (t) = B + [(T2,0 − T1,0 ) − B] e−At (D21)
= T1 = PQ2→1 (D12)
dt dt
dU2 dS2 with A given by (D11) and
= T2 = λω + PQ1→2 (D13)
dt dt n1 − C(n1 + n2 )
B= λω . (D22)
and PQ1→2 = −PQ2→1 . That is κ(n1 + n2 )
dS1 1 2→1 In conclusion for t → ∞
= P (D14)
dt T1 Q
dS2 1 1 T2 (t) − T1 (t) → B (D23)
= λω + PQ1→2 (D15)
dt T2 T2 and
and, since entropy is an extensive observable, n1
PQ2→1 → Cλω + κB = λω (D24)
  n1 + n2
dS 1 1 1
=I= λω + − PQ2→1 (D16)
dt T2 T1 T2 i.e. the heat transferred per unit time from Σ2 to Σ1 does
not depend on the unknown constant C.
where I has to be a non negative state function according
to the second law (28).
From (38) and (D5) we are led to introduce the assump-
tion for

PQ2→1 = Cλω + κ(T2 − T1 ) (D17)

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