On the second law of thermodynamics and the piston problem (Q852143)

The authors consider a piston problem in an infinite cylinder containing two gases on both parts of the piston. These gases are supposed to be composed of particles with mass \(m\) and moving in the same direction as the axis of the cylinder. The purpose of the paper is to describe the evolution of the some thermodynamic quantities, assuming that the mass \(m\) of the particle is much smaller than that \(M\) of the piston. The authors start from the conservation laws for the number of particles, the linear momentum and the energy. They then write the Second law of Thermodynamics within this context, quoting results from the literature. They impose initial conditions which imply that the piston remains, on the average, at rest (no drift). Computing the thermodynamical quantities on the surfaces of the piston, and assuming a similarity flow inside the fluid, they compute expressions of these quantities inside the fluid. They prove that these expressions agree with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.