The statistical thermodynamics of steady states

The suggestion that steady-state phase-space distributions might be smooth, rather than fractal, is investigated from the standpoint of stochastically -thermostatted systems. Let a pervasive, cool, rapidly-thermostatted ideal gas serve as a heat reservoir for macroscopic degrees of freedom. Flows of mass, momentum, and energy, thermostatted in this way, exhibit clear fracta l distributions, just as do their counterparts with deterministic thermosta ts. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.