TY - JOUR
T1 - Getting more from pushing less
T2 - Negative specific heat and conductivity in nonequilibrium steady states
AU - Zia, R. K.P.
AU - Praestgaard, E. L.
AU - Mouritsen, O. G.
PY - 2002/12/1
Y1 - 2002/12/1
N2 - For students familiar with equilibrium statistical mechanics, the notion of a positive specific heat, being intimately related to the idea of stability, is both intuitively reasonable and mathematically provable. However, for systems in nonequilibrium stationary states, coupled to more than one energy reservoir, a negative specific heat is entirely possible. We present a minimal system that displays this phenomenon. For a system in contact with two thermal baths at different temperatures, the (internal) energy may increase when a thermostat is turned down. In another context, a similar phenomenon is negative conductivity, where a current may increase by decreasing the drive (for example, an external electric field). The counter-intuitive behavior in both processes may be described as getting more from pushing less. The crucial ingredients for this phenomenon and the elements needed for a minimal system are also presented.
AB - For students familiar with equilibrium statistical mechanics, the notion of a positive specific heat, being intimately related to the idea of stability, is both intuitively reasonable and mathematically provable. However, for systems in nonequilibrium stationary states, coupled to more than one energy reservoir, a negative specific heat is entirely possible. We present a minimal system that displays this phenomenon. For a system in contact with two thermal baths at different temperatures, the (internal) energy may increase when a thermostat is turned down. In another context, a similar phenomenon is negative conductivity, where a current may increase by decreasing the drive (for example, an external electric field). The counter-intuitive behavior in both processes may be described as getting more from pushing less. The crucial ingredients for this phenomenon and the elements needed for a minimal system are also presented.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=23044533911&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1119/1.1427088
DO - 10.1119/1.1427088
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:23044533911
SN - 0002-9505
VL - 70
SP - 384
EP - 392
JO - American Journal of Physics
JF - American Journal of Physics
IS - 4
ER -