Abstract
It is only when mixing two or more pure substances along a reversible path that the entropy of the mixing can be made physically manifest. It is not, in this case, a mere mathematical artifact. This mixing requires a process of successive stages. In any finite number of stages, the external manifestation of the entropy change, as a definite and measurable quantity of heat, isa fully continuous function of the relevant variables. It is only at an infinite and unattainable limit thata non-uniform convergence occurs. And this occurs when considered in terms of the number of stages together with a ‘distinguishability parameter’ appropriate to the particular device which is used to achieve reversibility. These considerations, which are of technological interest to chemical engineers, resolve a paradox derived in chemical theory called Gibbs' Paradox.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boyer, T. H.: 1970, ‘Sharpening Bridgman's Resolution of the Gibbs' Paradox’,American Journal of Physics 38, 771–73.
Bridgman, P. W.: 1941,The Nature of Thermodynamics, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Denbigh, K. G.: 1988,The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium, 4th ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Denbigh, K. G. and Denbigh, J. S.: 1985,Entropy in Relation to Incomplete Knowledge Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Gibbs, J. W.: 1876,The Scientific Papers, vol. 1, Dover, New York, pp. 166–67.
Grad, H.: 1961, ‘The Many Faces of Entropy’,Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics 14, 323–54.
Guggenheim, E. A.: 1957,Thermodynamics, 3rd ed., North-Holland, Amsterdam.
Hestenes, D.: 1970, ‘Entropy and Indistinguishability,American Journal of Physics 38, 840–45.
Hobson, A.: 1971,Concepts in Statistical Mechanics, Gordon & Breach, New York.
Klein, M. J.: 1959, ‘Remarks on the Gibbs' Paradox’,Nederlands Tizdschrift voor Natuurkunde 25, 73–76.
Kubo, R.: 1965,Statistical Mechanics, North-Holland, Amsterdam.
Landé, A.: 1955,Foundations of Quantum Theory, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Landé, A.: 1965,Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Landolt-Börnstein Tabellen.: 1931,Zweiter Erq. Bd., Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Landsberg, P. T. and D. Tranah: 1978, ‘The Gibbs Paradox and Quantum Gases’,American Journal of Physics 46, 228–30.
Lesk, A. H.: 1980, ‘On the Gibbs’ Paradox: What Does Indistinguishability Really Mean?’Journal of Physics A. Mathematical and General,13, L111-L114.
Mandl, F.: 1974,Statistical Physics, Wiley, New York.
Planck, M.: 1927,Treatise on Thermodynamics, 3rd English ed., Longmans, Green & Co., London.
Popper, K.: 1959,The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Hutchinson, London.
Reif, F.: 1965,Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Rudin, W.: 1976,Principles of Mathematical Analysis, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, Kogakusha, Tokyo.
Schrödinger, E.: 1948,Statistical Thermodynamics Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Von Neumann, J.: 1955,Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, English ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton. New Jersey.
Yourgrau, W., A. van der Merwe, and G. Raw: 1966,Treatise on Irreversible and Statistical Thermophysics, MacMillan, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Denbigh, K.G., Redhead, M.L.G. Gibbs' paradox and non-uniform convergence. Synthese 81, 283–312 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869318
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869318