Contributions to the Theory of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics

<p>The purpose of this dissertation is to present a generalization of the current theory of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The current theory was presented in 1953 by Onsager and Machlup, its mathematical context goes back to the 1930 paper of Uhlenbeck and Ornstein on Brownian motion, and the physical foundations for that approach go back to the initial theoretical work on Brownian motion done by Einstein in 1905 and by Langevin in 1908. It will be demonstrated how the ideas presented by these men lead in a natural way to a generalization of the current theory. It will then be shown how the generalized theory extends the domain of applicability of non-equilibrium thermodynamics.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Year

1969

Author dc:creator

• Fox, Ronald Forrest

Contributors dc:contributor

• George Uhlenbeck

• non-equilibrium thermodynamics
• Onsager-Machlup theory
• Brownian motion
• generalized theory
• statistical mechanics
• Langevin dynamics
• Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/student_theses_and_dissertations/565

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu:student_theses_and_dissertations-1567