reversible

(adjective)

Capable of returning to the original state without consumption of free energy and increase of entropy.

Related Terms

  • Carnot cycle
  • Boyle's law
  • ideal gas

Examples of reversible in the following topics:

  • A Physical Aside: Einstein coefficients

    • Because quantum mechanics for the most part is time reversible, the cross-section for the forward and reverse reactions are related.
  • Carnot Cycles

    • The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cyclical process possible and uses only reversible processes through its cycle.
    • What is crucial to the Carnot cycle is that only reversible processes are used.
    • Obviously, then, reversible processes are superior.
    • Recall that both isothermal and adiabatic processes are, in principle, reversible .
    • PV diagram for a Carnot cycle, employing only reversible isothermal and adiabatic processes.
  • What is Entropy?

    • We noted that for a Carnot cycle, and hence for any reversible processes, Qc/Qh=Tc/Th.
    • Rearranging terms yields $\frac{Q_c}{T_c} = \frac{Q_h}{T_h}$ for any reversible process.
    • This ratio of Q/T is defined to be the change in entropy ΔS for a reversible process,
    • PV diagram for a Carnot cycle, employing only reversible isothermal and adiabatic processes.
    • Calculate the total change in entropy for a system in a reversible process
  • The Second Law

    • If the process can go in only one direction, then the reverse path differs fundamentally and the process cannot be reversible.
    • Furthermore, mechanical energy, such as kinetic energy, can be completely converted to thermal energy by friction, but the reverse is impossible.
    • The Second Law of Thermodynamics(first expression): Heat transfer occurs spontaneously from higher- to lower-temperature bodies but never spontaneously in the reverse direction.
    • The reverse process is impossible.
  • Helical Motion

    • If field strength increases in the direction of motion, the field will exert a force to slow the charges (and even reverse their direction), forming a kind of magnetic mirror.
    • This force slows the motion along the field line and here reverses it, forming a "magnetic mirror. "
  • Charging a Battery: EMFs in Series and Parallel

    • When it is reversed, it produces an emf that opposes the other, and results in a difference between the two voltage sources .
    • The charger must have a larger emf than the battery to reverse current through it.
  • Stastical Interpretation of Entropy

    • The most disorderly possibilities are 3 heads and 2 tails and its reverse.
    • (They are the least structured. ) The most disorderly possibilities are also the most likely, with 20 out of 32 possibilities for the 3 heads and 2 tails and its reverse.
    • The reverse can happen, but it is unlikely.
  • Geomagnetism

    • These events are called geomagnetic reversals.
    • Reversals occur at apparently random intervals ranging from less than 0.1 million years to as much as 50 million years.
    • The most recent such event, called the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal, occurred about 780,000 years ago.
  • Photon Interactions and Pair Production

    • The reverse process is also possible.
  • NMR and MRIs

    • This electromagnetic field has just the right frequency (known as the resonance frequency) to become absorbed and then reverse the rotation of the hydrogen protons in the magnetic field.
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