Despite a long history of almost 180 years stretching back to the times of Carnot and, later, Clausius and Lord Kelvin, amongst others following him, the subject of thermodynamics has not as yet seen its full maturity, in the sense that the theory of irreversible processes has remained incomplete. The works of L. Onsager, J. Meixner, I. Prigogine on the thermodyn- ics of linear irreversible processes are, in effect, the early efforts toward the desired goal of giving an adequate description of irreversible processes, but their theory is confined to near-equilibrium phenomena. The works in recent years by various research workers on the extension of the aforem- tioned thermodynamic theory of linear irreversible processes are further efforts toward the goal mentioned. The present work is another of such efforts and a contribution to the subject of generalizing the thermodyn- ics of reversible processes, namely, equilibrium thermodynamics, to that of irreversible processes—non-equilibrium thermodynamics, without being restricted to linear irreversible processes. In this context the terms ‘far - moved from equilibrium’ is often used in the literature, and such states of macroscopic systems and non-linear irreversible phenomena in them are the objects of interest in this work. The thermodynamics of processes, either reversible or irreversible, is a continuum mechanical theory of matter and energy and their exchange between different parts of the system, and as such it makes no direct r- erence to the molecules constituting the substance under consideration.

This book presents the fundamentals of irreversible thermodynamics for nonlinear transport processes in gases and liquids, as well as for generalized hydrodynamics extending the classical hydrodynamics of Navier, Stokes, Fourier, and Fick. Together with its companion volume on nonrelativistic contexts, it provides a comprehensive picture of the relativistic covariant kinetic theory of gases and relativistic hydrodynamics of gases.Relativistic theories of macroscopic irreversible processes must strictly conform to the thermodynamic laws at every step and in all approximations that enter their derivation from the mechanical principles. Upholding this as the inviolable tenet, the author develops theories of irreversible transport processes in fluids (gases or liquids). They apply regardless of whether the processes are near to or far removed from equilibrium, or whether they are linear or nonlinear with respect to macroscopic fluxes or thermodynamic forces. The irreversible covariant Boltzmann as well as the covariant form of the Boltzmann-Nordheim-Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation is used for deriving theories of irreversible transport equations and generalized hydrodynamic equations for either classical gases or quantum gases. They all conform rigorously to the tenet. All macroscopic observables described by the so-formulated theories therefore are likewise expected to strictly obey the tenet.

This monograph presents, from the viewpoint of continuum mechanics, a newly emerging field of irreversible thermodynamics, in which linear irreversible thermodynamics are extended to the nonlinear regime and macroscopic phenomena far removed from equilibrium are studied in a manner consistent with the laws of thermodynamics. The tool to develop this thermodynamic theory of irreversible processes are the generalized thermodynamics, which also extends the classical hydrodynamics of Navier, Stokes and Fourier to nonlinear irreversible processes. On the basis of mathematically rigorous representations of the first and the second law of thermodynamics, phenomenological theory (continuum mechanics) deductions are made from the thermodynamic laws of R. Clausius and Lord Kelvin and by this continuum mechanics theories are formulated for macroscopic irreversible processes occurring far removed from equilibrium. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics are developed for thermodynamic functions. The macroscopic irreversible processes studied include global irreversible processes as well as local hydrodynamic processes at an arbitrary degree of removal from equilibrium. Applications of the theories cover global irreversible processes, simple flows of non-Newtonian and non-Fourier fluids, shock waves of monatomic and diatomic gases, rarefied gas dynamics, ultrasonic wave absorption and dispersion of monatomic and diatomic gases, electrochemical processes, neural networks of chemical reactors, microflows, etc. Variational principles in irreversible thermodynamics and contact manifolds in thermodynamics are also discussed.' This monograph, will be of interest to condensed matter physicists, chemical physicists, biophysicists, mechanical and aerospace engineers, and specialists and graduate students in the fields of irreversible thermodynamics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.

This book introduces a new outlook on thermodynamics. It brings the theory up to the present time and indicates areas of further development with the union of information theory and the theory of means and their inequalities.

This book is the first of 2 special volumes dedicated to the memory of Gérard Maugin. Including 40 papers that reflect his vast field of scientific activity, the contributions discuss non-standard methods (generalized model) to demonstrate the wide range of subjects that were covered by this exceptional scientific leader. The topics range from micromechanical basics to engineering applications, focusing on new models and applications of well-known models to new problems. They include micro–macro aspects, computational endeavors, options for identifying constitutive equations, and old problems with incorrect or non-satisfying solutions based on the classical continua assumptions.