Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This letter aims to investigate thermodynamic processes in small systems in the Onsager region by showing that fundamental quantities such as total entropy production can be discretized on the mesoscopic scale. Even thermodynamic variables can conjugate to thermodynamic forces, and thus, Glansdorff–Prigogine’s dissipative variable may be discretized. The canonical commutation rules (CCRs) valid at the mesoscopic scale are postulated, and the measurement process consists of determining the eigenvalues of the operators associated with the thermodynamic quantities. The nature of the quantized quantity β , entering the CCRs, is investigated by a heuristic model for nano-gas and analyzed through the tools of classical statistical physics. We conclude that according to our model, the constant β does not appear to be a new fundamental constant but corresponds to the minimum value.
Author: Giorgio Sonnino
Institution: Université Libre de Bruxelles
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4415187677