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Boye Ahlborn, Frank L. Curzon

Time scales for energy transfer

Periodic operating systems can conserve energy by temporarily transferring one form of energy into another. However, every transfer of energy ?E in a system of mass M has a characteristic time scale ?. Thus the power flux per unit mass q? = ?E/(M?) is not arbitrary. Time scales ? = C_t · M^? and energy fluxes P = C_p · M^? for various processes are expressed here as power functions of M. The scaling law constants C_t and C_p depend on various internal parameters, occasionally allowing the performance of systems to be optimized. When energy changes its form reversibly inside abody there is no mass dependence on the time scale and on the specific power transfer: ?,? = 0. In most other cases beta is negative in the range -2/3 ? ? ? 0, and alpha is positive in the range 0 ? ? ? 1/2.

Journal of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics, Walter de Gruyter

Print ISSN: 0340-0204
Volume: 29, 09/2004
Pages: 301 - 312

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