Reversible

Reversible process and irreversible thermodynamics

can be carried out in one of two ways: reversibly or irreversibly. An thermodynamically reversible process is free of dissipative losses and therefore the magnitude of performed by or on the system would be maximized. The incomplete conversion of heat to work in a cyclic process, however, applies to both reversible and irreversible cycles. The dependence of work on the path of the thermodynamic process is also unrelated to reversibility, since expansion work, which c. [PDF Version]