Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-4-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-1/b1/solution
Past exam of the physics course of the year 4 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2014 Paper 1 B1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
For an isolated system with equally probable accessible microstates, Boltzmann entropy is . The second law states that an isolated system's total entropy cannot decrease; it remains constant in a reversible process and increases in an irreversible one.
The insulated mixture exchanges no heat with its surroundings. At constant pressure, with only pressure-volume work, its enthalpy is conserved. Constant and equal specific heat capacities therefore give . Calculate each entropy change along a hypothetical reversible temperature path:The surroundings gain no entropy through heat exchange; ideal mechanical work carries no entropy. The arithmetic-geometric mean inequality gives , with equality only for . Mixing unequal temperatures is irreversible even though total energy is conserved.
New to topics? Read the docs here!