The Maximum Entropy Production Principle and Linear Irreversible Processes

Abstract

It is shown that Onsager’s principle of the least dissipation of energy is equivalent to the maximum entropy production principle. It is known that solutions of the linearized Boltzmann equation make extrema of entropy production. It is argued, in the case of stationary processes, that this extremum is a maximum rather than a minimum.

Keywords

• entropy production
• linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics
• linearized Boltzmann equation