Entropy production: Its role in non-equilibrium thermodynamics

Abstract

It is unquestionable that the concept of entropy has played an essential role both in the physical and biological sciences. However, the entropy production, crucial to the second law, has also other features not clearly conceived. We all know that the main difficulty is concerned with its quantification in non-equilibrium processes and consequently its value for some specific cases is limited. In this work we will review the ideas behind the entropy production concept and we will give some insights about its relevance. © 2011 by the authors.