Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Richens JG
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5133619 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Richens Jonathan G JG Masanes Lluis L
Nature communications 20161125
In the standard framework of thermodynamics, work is a random variable whose average is bounded by the change in free energy of the system. This average work is calculated without regard for the size of its fluctuations. Here we show that for some processes, such as reversible cooling, the fluctuations in work diverge. Realistic thermal machines may be unable to cope with arbitrarily large fluctuations. Hence, it is important to understand how thermodynamic efficiency rates are modified by bound ...[more]