A nonlocal theory of irreversible thermodynamics. I: Hydrodynamics of a one component fluid (Q1098368)

The author presents a generalization of non-equilibrium thermodynamics suitable to the study of nonlinear relaxation of fluctuations in a one- component monoatomic classical fluid under strongly nonuniform situations. The central quantity in this development is the entropy S as a function of mass, momentum and energy obtainable through an ensemble average like the thermodynamic potential in the theory of non-uniform equilibrium. The entropy S is closely related to the Lyapunov function of the kinetic equations and its derivatives provide their thermodynamic forces. The kinetic equations and the extensions of the Gibbs-Duhem and Euler relations are by construction nonlocal in space.