Influence of the Displacement out of the Center of Mass and Nonaxiality of the Dipole on the Thermodynamics of Liquids Composed of Linear Dipole Molecules

Statistical thermodynamics of fluids with both dipole and quadrupole moments

New Gibbs ensemble simulation data for a polar fluid modeled by a square-well potential plus dipole-dipole, dipole-quadrupole, and quadrupole-quadrupole interactions are presented. This simulation data is used in order to assess the applicability of the multipolar square-well perturbation theory [A. L. Benavides, Y. Guevara, and F. del Río, Physica A 202, 420 (1994)] to systems where more than one term in the multipole expansion is relevant. It is found that this theory is able to reproduce qualitatively well the vapor-liquid phase diagram for different multipolar moment strengths, corresponding to typical values of real molecules, except in the critical region. Hence, this theory is used to model the behavior of substances with multiple chemical bonds such as carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide and we found that with a suitable choice of the values of the intermolecular parameters, the vapor-liquid equilibrium of these species is adequately estimated.

Current trends in finite-time thermodynamics

The cornerstone of finite-time thermodynamics is all about the price of haste and how to minimize it. Reversible processes may be ultimately efficient, but they are unrealistically slow. In all situations-chemical, mechanical, economical-we pay extra to get the job done quickly. Finite-time thermodynamics can be used to develop methods to limit that extra expenditure, be it in energy, entropy production, money, or something entirely different. Finite-time thermodynamics also includes methods to calculate the optimal path or mode of operation to achieve this minimal expenditure. The concept is to place the system of interest in contact with a time-varying environment which will coax the system along the desired path, much like guiding a horse along by waving a carrot in front of it.