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Reinhard Hentschke

Bio: Reinhard Hentschke is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thermodynamic equations & Laws of thermodynamics. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 384 citations.

Papers
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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied systems at equilibrium, i.e., systems that do not change or evolve over time, and showed that these systems do not evolve at all.
Abstract: In the preceding chapters with few exceptions we studied systems at equilibrium. This means that the systems do not change or evolve over time.

504 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Efficiency and, in particular, efficiency at maximum power can be discussed systematically beyond the linear response regime for two classes of molecular machines, isothermal ones such as molecular motors, and heat engines such as thermoelectric devices, using a common framework based on a cycle decomposition of entropy production.
Abstract: Stochastic thermodynamics as reviewed here systematically provides a framework for extending the notions of classical thermodynamics such as work, heat and entropy production to the level of individual trajectories of well-defined non-equilibrium ensembles. It applies whenever a non-equilibrium process is still coupled to one (or several) heat bath(s) of constant temperature. Paradigmatic systems are single colloidal particles in time-dependent laser traps, polymers in external flow, enzymes and molecular motors in single molecule assays, small biochemical networks and thermoelectric devices involving single electron transport. For such systems, a first-law like energy balance can be identified along fluctuating trajectories. For a basic Markovian dynamics implemented either on the continuum level with Langevin equations or on a discrete set of states as a master equation, thermodynamic consistency imposes a local-detailed balance constraint on noise and rates, respectively. Various integral and detailed fluctuation theorems, which are derived here in a unifying approach from one master theorem, constrain the probability distributions for work, heat and entropy production depending on the nature of the system and the choice of non-equilibrium conditions. For non-equilibrium steady states, particularly strong results hold like a generalized fluctuation–dissipation theorem involving entropy production. Ramifications and applications of these concepts include optimal driving between specified states in finite time, the role of measurement-based feedback processes and the relation between dissipation and irreversibility. Efficiency and, in particular, efficiency at maximum power can be discussed systematically beyond the linear response regime for two classes of molecular machines, isothermal ones such as molecular motors, and heat engines such as thermoelectric devices, using a common framework based on a cycle decomposition of entropy production. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal) This article was invited by Erwin Frey.

2,834 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of the state-of-the-art of this multidisciplinary area and identifying the key research challenges is provided in this paper, where the developments in diagnostics, modeling and further extensions of cross section and reaction rate databases are discussed.
Abstract: Plasma–liquid interactions represent a growing interdisciplinary area of research involving plasma science, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, photolysis, multiphase chemistry and aerosol science. This review provides an assessment of the state-of-the-art of this multidisciplinary area and identifies the key research challenges. The developments in diagnostics, modeling and further extensions of cross section and reaction rate databases that are necessary to address these challenges are discussed. The review focusses on non-equilibrium plasmas.

1,078 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A general theory of chemical kinetics, developed over the past 7 years, is presented, capable of answering questions about how reaction rate is a nonlinear function of the thermodynamic driving force, the free energy of reaction, expressed in terms of variational chemical potentials.
Abstract: Classical theories of chemical kinetics assume independent reactions in dilute solutions, whose rates are determined by mean concentrations In condensed matter, strong interactions alter chemical activities and create inhomogeneities that can dramatically affect the reaction rate The extreme case is that of a reaction coupled to a phase transformation, whose kinetics must depend on the order parameter -- and its gradients, at phase boundaries This Account presents a general theory of chemical kinetics based on nonequilibrium thermodynamics The reaction rate is a nonlinear function of the thermodynamic driving force (free energy of reaction) expressed in terms of variational chemical potentials The Cahn-Hilliard and Allen-Cahn equations are unified and extended via a master equation for non-equilibrium chemical thermodynamics For electrochemistry, both Marcus and Butler-Volmer kinetics are generalized for concentrated solutions and ionic solids The theory is applied to intercalation dynamics in the phase separating Li-ion battery material Li$_x$FePO$_4$

440 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The variational principles called maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and maximum caliber (MaxCal) are reviewed in this paper, and the different historical justifications for the entropy $S = \ensuremath{-}\ensurem{-} √ √ p √ i √ log √ ǫ(p) √ I √ n) and its corresponding variational principle are reviewed.
Abstract: The variational principles called maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and maximum caliber (MaxCal) are reviewed. MaxEnt originated in the statistical physics of Boltzmann and Gibbs, as a theoretical tool for predicting the equilibrium states of thermal systems. Later, entropy maximization was also applied to matters of information, signal transmission, and image reconstruction. Recently, since the work of Shore and Johnson, MaxEnt has been regarded as a principle that is broader than either physics or information alone. MaxEnt is a procedure that ensures that inferences drawn from stochastic data satisfy basic self-consistency requirements. The different historical justifications for the entropy $S=\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\sum}_{i}{p}_{i}\mathrm{log} {p}_{i}$ and its corresponding variational principles are reviewed. As an illustration of the broadening purview of maximum entropy principles, maximum caliber, which is path entropy maximization applied to the trajectories of dynamical systems, is also reviewed. Examples are given in which maximum caliber is used to interpret dynamical fluctuations in biology and on the nanoscale, in single-molecule and few-particle systems such as molecular motors, chemical reactions, biological feedback circuits, and diffusion in microfluidics devices.

404 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results suggest that motility can arise in the absence of treadmilling, by spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of polarity inversion symmetry, and it is shown that SSB in this (extensile) case leads generically to rotational as well as translational motion.
Abstract: We explore a generic mechanism whereby a droplet of active matter acquires motility by the spontaneous breakdown of a discrete symmetry. The model we study offers a simple representation of a “cell extract” comprising, e.g., a droplet of actomyosin solution. (Such extracts are used experimentally to model the cytoskeleton). Actomyosin is an active gel whose polarity describes the mean sense of alignment of actin fibres. In the absence of polymerization and depolymerization processes (‘treadmilling’), the gel’s dynamics arises solely from the contractile motion of myosin motors; this should be unchanged when polarity is inverted. Our results suggest that motility can arise in the absence of treadmilling, by spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of polarity inversion symmetry. Adapting our model to wall-bound cells in two dimensions, we find that as wall friction is reduced, treadmilling-induced motility falls but SSB-mediated motility rises. The latter might therefore be crucial in three dimensions where frictional forces are likely to be modest. At a supracellular level, the same generic mechanism can impart motility to aggregates of nonmotile but active bacteria; we show that SSB in this (extensile) case leads generically to rotational as well as translational motion.

227 citations