An amendment to the second law (Q1352708)

The authors propose a precise statement of the second law of thermodynamics -- as used in continuum thermodynamics -- which includes an ``amendment'' (expression used by the authors) in order to systematically rule out solutions of the balance equations which do not satisfy the second law. This ``amendment'' amounts to noting that ``there are no reversible process directions at non-equilibrium''. This, according to the authors, is self-evident but never formulated. A consequence of this is that entropy production density is a function of the state. Furthermore, the relationship between the proposed amendment and the stronger Coleman-Mizel formulation of the second law is discussed, and it is shown that the additional constraints -- known as Liu's equations and the residual dissipation inequality -- are indeed consequences of this amendment. The latter, therefore, provides from an operational viewpoint the most satisfactory formulation of the second law up to now.