Which of the process described below are irreversible?

Question:

Which of the process described below are irreversible?

(a) the increase in temperature of an iron rod by hammering it

(b) a gas in a small container at a temperature T1 is brought in contact with a big reservoir at a higher temperature T2 which increases the temperature of the gas

(c) a quasi-static isothermal expansion of an ideal gas in a cylinder fitted with a frictionless piston

(d) an ideal gas is enclosed in a piston-cylinder arrangement with adiabatic walls. A weight W is added to the piston resulting in compression of gas

Solution:

The correct answers are

(a) the increase in temperature of an iron rod by hammering it

(b) a gas in a small container at a temperature T1 is brought in contact with a big reservoir at a higher temperature T2 which increases the temperature of the gas

(d) an ideal gas is enclosed in a piston-cylinder arrangement with adiabatic walls. A weight W is added to the piston resulting in compression of gas

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