The connection between the second law of thermodynamics and the principle of microscopic reversibility

摘要

The connection between the second law of thermodynamics and the principle of microscopic reversibility is studied with mathematical rigor. It is shown that a kinetic scheme adhering to microscopic reversibility necessarily obeys the second law. In addition, it is also proved that any reaction linearly independent from the others must be microscopically reversible. This condition is not necessary for reactions whose stoichiometry can be given as a linear combination of others. An example is given to prove this fact.