Entropy Production and Thermal Conductivity of A Dilute Gas

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel derivation of the thermal conductivity of a dilute gas using entropy production principles, notably without assuming a temperature gradient, thus offering a new theoretical perspective.

Contribution

It presents a new derivation of dilute gas thermal conductivity based on entropy production principles, bypassing the need for a temperature gradient assumption.

Findings

Reproduces known thermal conductivity results

Utilizes steepest entropy ascent and maximum entropy production principles

Provides a gradient-free derivation method

Abstract

It is known that the thermal conductivity of a dilute gas can be derived by using kinetic theory. We present here a new derivation by starting with two known entropy production principles: the steepest entropy ascent (SEA) principle and the maximum entropy production (MEP) principle. A remarkable feature of the new derivation is that it does not require the specification of the existence of the temperature gradient. The known result is reproduced in a similar form.