Practice question · Multiple choice
What distinguishes a reversible process from a merely quasistatic one?
Hints
- Slow sliding friction is quasistatic, is it reversible?
- Dissipation is the extra thing that must be absent.
Show the answer
D. A reversible process also generates no entropy anywhere
Why
Quasistatic means passing through equilibrium states; reversible additionally requires no dissipation, so that the surroundings can be restored too. Slow friction satisfies the first and fails the second.
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