On the thermodynamics of continua in the presence of electromagnetic fields (Q1057086)

In Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 70, 355-371 (1979), \textit{J. Serrin} proposed to base rational thermodynamics on two laws valid for cyclic processes; thus the existence (in general) of an absolute temperature scale and (for a wide class of continua) of functions representing internal energy density and entropy density can be deduced, together with the Clausius- Duhem inequality (contrarywise examples of non-uniqueness for the entropy can be provided). The author together with \textit{D. Iannece} and \textit{A. Romano} has already contributed to extensions of Serrin's results [ibid. 75, 373-385 (1981; Zbl 0474.73003)]; here he considers a rigid continuum and a thermoelastic continuum interacting with an electromagnetic field and again proves for them, from Serrin's formulation of the two laws, existence of internal energy and entropy functions and validity of the Clausius-Duhem inequality. The subtle additional hypothesis concerns the existence of a one-parameter family of cyclic processes (which is not necessarily the family of 'retarded' processes).