Equation 8 · The Statistical Mechanics of Irreversibility at Molecular Scale
What does this equation mean?
Read the formula alongside the article passage below. Each part has a deeper page with its role in the equation, the supporting passage and nearby citations.
This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions. Read the equation part by part below; each part has a contextual explanation and a link to its mathematical background.
Read it piece by piece
Symbol Δ s_tot
Δ ot occurs above the fraction bar. The numerator is divided by the entire denominator below it.
Symbol k_mathrm B
athrm B occurs below the fraction bar. The quantity above the bar is divided by this expression; zero is excluded as a denominator.
=
The expressions on both sides represent the same quantity under the stated assumptions.
See an illustrated explanation →change
Capital delta attached to a quantity marks a difference between two values of that quantity; the article’s sign convention determines the order.
subscript
The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.
How to interpret it
With a fixed numerator, increasing a nonzero denominator reduces the fraction. Read it with the definitions, units, and assumptions supplied by the article.
What the article says around this equation
Exponentiating and averaging over forward paths produces the integral fluctuation theorem, . Jensen’s inequality then gives
For background, read the article’s source list.
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