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Concept
Isentropic process
Summary
In thermodynamics, an isentropic process is an idealized thermodynamic process that is both adiabatic and reversible. The work transfers of the system are frictionless, and there is no net transfer of heat or matter. Such an idealized process is useful in engineering as a model of and basis of comparison for real processes. This process is idealized because reversible processes do not occur in reality; thinking of a process as both adiabatic and reversible would show that the initial and final entropies are the same, thus, the reason it is called isentropic (entropy does not change). Thermodynamic processes are named based on the effect they would have on the system (ex. isovolumetric: constant volume, isenthalpic: constant enthalpy). Even though in reality it is not necessarily possible to carry out an isentropic process, some may be approximated as such.
The word "isentropic" can be interpreted in another way, since its meaning is deducible from its etymology. It means a process in which the entropy of the system remains unchanged; as mentioned, this could occur if the process is both adiabatic and reversible. However, this could also occur in a system where the work done on the system includes friction internal to the system, and heat is withdrawn from the system in just the right amount to compensate for the internal friction, so as to leave the entropy unchanged. However, in relation to the universe, the entropy of the universe would increase as a result, in agreement with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
The second law of thermodynamics states that
where is the amount of energy the system gains by heating, is the temperature of the surroundings, and is the change in entropy. The equal sign refers to a reversible process, which is an imagined idealized theoretical limit, never actually occurring in physical reality, with essentially equal temperatures of system and surroundings. For an isentropic process, if also reversible, there is no transfer of energy as heat because the process is adiabatic; δQ = 0.
Official source
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