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ERIC Number: EJ935044
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-2479
EISSN: N/A
Ehrenfest's Lottery--Time and Entropy Maximization
Ashbaugh, Henry S.
Chemical Engineering Education, v44 n3 p229-235 Sum 2010
Successful teaching of the Second Law of Thermodynamics suffers from limited simple examples linking equilibrium to entropy maximization. I describe a thought experiment connecting entropy to a lottery that mixes marbles amongst a collection of urns. This mixing obeys diffusion-like dynamics. Equilibrium is achieved when the marble distribution is uniform and the entropy is maximized. I also show the ideal gas law results from the entropy change when the number of urns is increased.
Chemical Engineering Education, Chemical Engineering Division of ASEE. P.O. Box 142097, Gainesville, FL 32614. Tel: 352-392-0861; Fax: 352-392-0861; e-mail: cee@che.ufl.edu; Web site: http://cee.che.ufl.edu/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A