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Equation 17 · Part 6 · The Statistical Mechanics of Irreversibility at Molecular Scale

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dU=δW+δQ,dU = \delta W + \delta Q,
=

What this part means

The expressions on both sides represent the same quantity under the stated assumptions.

Its job in the formula

The equals sign connects the complete expression on the left with the complete expression on the right. Both sides must have compatible units.

The passage around this formula

For an overdamped particle in a potential U(x,λ\lambda) , an infinitesimal energy balance can be written schematically as dU=δW+δQdU = \delta W + \delta Q. with work associated with changing the control parameter and heat associated with motion through the force field. The distinction depends on the physical protocol, not merely on algebraic rearrangement. Stochastic energetics must also specify a calculus convention when multiplicative noise is present.

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Learn the underlying idea

An equals sign says that the expression on its left and the expression on its right have the same value under the stated definitions and assumptions.

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Sources cited in the article section

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