NONEQUILIBRIUM ENTROPY AND THE 2ND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS - A SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION

The objective of this paper is twofold: first, to examine how the conc epts of extended irreversible thermodynamics are related to the notion of accompanying equilibrium state introduced by Kestin; second, to co mpare the behavior of both the classical local equilibrium entropy and that used in extended irreversible thermodynamics. Whereas the former does not show a monotonic increase, the latter exhibits a steady incr ease during the heat transfer process; therefore it is more suitable t han the former one to cope with the approach to equilibrium in the pre sence of thermal waves.