Nanothermodynamics
A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Thermodynamics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2015) | Viewed by 40070
Special Issue Editors
Interests: inhomogeneous systems; energy conversion and storage; small systems; entropic forces; long-range interactions; fluctuations
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recent advances in nanotechnology have favoured a renewed interest in thermodynamics far below macroscopic scales –nanothermodynamics. Such attention to small and nanoscale systems has raised the issue of the applicability of thermodynamic concepts at this level. Roughly speaking, we can say that small and nanoscale systems are those in which the range of interactions is of the order of the size of the system or contain a finite number of particles. However, we can anticipate that results in nanothermodynamics can also be extrapolated to very large self-gravitating systems. Boundary or surface effects, inhomogeneity, non-extensivity, large fluctuations are some of the peculiarities of these systems which can only be revealed through a thermodynamic description. Since the Gibbs-Duhem equation ceases to be valid here, small systems have more degrees of freedom. This means for example, that in general the temperature of the system does not coincide with the bath temperature - except in some particular range of control parameters. Also, confinement causes large fluctuations and unleashes entropic forces in such a way that thermodynamic properties depend on the environment with the concomitant ensemble inequivalence that this brings about. Therefore, the necessity of a particular thermodynamic description adapted to these small and nanoscale systems becomes manifest.
Prof. Dr. A. Perez-Madrid
Prof. Dr. Iván Santamaría-Holek
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- Ensemble inequivalence
- symmetry breaking
- inhomogeneous systems
- thermal properties
- fluctuations
- metastable states
- nanomotors
- energy conversion and storage
- small systems
- entropic forces
- long-range interactions