Author Description

This is the first comprehensive monograph on a new thermodynamic theory that goes beyond the classical theory of irreversible processes. In contrast with the classical approach, the local equilibrium hypothesis is abandoned. The basic variables describing the system are no longer the equilibrium conserved variables, but the latter are complemented by non-equilibrium quantities taking the form of the flux of heat, the viscous pressure tensor, the flux of matter, the flux of electric current, etc. The statements behind extended thermodynamics are confirmed by the kinetic theory of gases and statistical mechanics. The book covers a wide spectrum of applications such as hyperbolic heat conduction, rheological models, waves in fluids, generalized hydrodynamics, phase diagrams of solutions under shear, non-Fickian diffusion, electrical systems, and a relativistic formulation including some cosmological applications. The book also contains a wide discussion of the foundations and the scope of the most current theories of non-equilibrium thermodynamics (classical irreversible thermodynamics and rational thermodynamics).