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Which of the following processes is reversible
A
Transfer of heat by radiation
B
Transfer of heat by conduction
C
Isothermal compression
D
Electrical heating of a nichrome wire
Detailed Solution
A reversible process is one that can be retraced in the opposite direction, so that the system and the surroundings pass through exactly the same states in reverse order.
It must be carried out very slowly (quasi-statically), with the system always in equilibrium, and without dissipative effects such as friction, resistance or heat flow across a finite temperature difference.
A slow isothermal compression of a gas, in contact with a heat reservoir at the same temperature, satisfies these conditions; it can be reversed by an equally slow isothermal expansion. So it is a reversible process.
Transfer of heat by conduction or radiation takes place from a hotter to a colder body across a finite temperature difference; heat never flows back by itself, so these are irreversible.
Electrical (Joule) heating of a nichrome wire is a dissipative process; the heat produced cannot be converted back into electrical energy in the same way, so it is irreversible.
So the reversible process is isothermal compression.
It must be carried out very slowly (quasi-statically), with the system always in equilibrium, and without dissipative effects such as friction, resistance or heat flow across a finite temperature difference.
A slow isothermal compression of a gas, in contact with a heat reservoir at the same temperature, satisfies these conditions; it can be reversed by an equally slow isothermal expansion. So it is a reversible process.
Transfer of heat by conduction or radiation takes place from a hotter to a colder body across a finite temperature difference; heat never flows back by itself, so these are irreversible.
Electrical (Joule) heating of a nichrome wire is a dissipative process; the heat produced cannot be converted back into electrical energy in the same way, so it is irreversible.
So the reversible process is isothermal compression.