Question

State the characteristics of reversible and irreversible processes???​

Answer 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF REVERSIBLE AND IRREVERSIBLE PROCESS:

• Reversible Process (or Quasi-static) Process:

1. In a thermodynamic reversible process the external and internal condition should differ by an infinitesimal amount.
2. It is possible to reverse any change by altering the external condition to an infinitesimal amount .
3. Both system and the surroundings must restore their original state after passing through the same sequence of steps in the reverse direction, i.e. after completing a cyclic process.
4. In a reversible process the system is always infinitesimal close to equilibrium.
5. A reversible process takes infinite time to complete. Therefore such process can not take place in nature as spontaneous process.

• Irreversible Process:

1. In a cyclic process more work is done by the surroundings to bring the system to its original state, then the work is done by the system during the expansion process. Therefore some work is destroying in surroundings in a cyclic irreversible process.
2. Since an irreversible process takes finite time to complete, therefore an irreversible process complete in a finite time, hence all naturally occurring spontaneous process are irreversible in nature.