THE 

 LONDON, EDINBURGH, and DUBLIN 



PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE 



AND 



JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



[FIFTH SERIES.] 



MAY 1896. 



XLI. On the Laws of Irreversible Phenomena. By Dr. 

 Ladislas Nat ANSON, Professor of Natural Philosophy 

 in the University of Cracow *. 



IT can scarcely be doubted that the theory of dissipation of 

 energy is still in its infancy. Reversible phenomena 

 are well understood, but they do not involve dissipation at 

 all ; and what is known about irreversible phenomena is 

 merely the qualitative aspect of their general laws. In fact, 

 of the general quantitative laws of irreversible phenomena 

 we are as yet utterly ignorant. Now I venture to think 

 there is a general principle underlying irreversible phenomena 

 which is easily seen to be consistent with fact in various cases 

 well investigated : it is an extension of Hamilton's Principle, 

 and (with much diversity, of course, as to form and gene- 

 rality) has been stated by Lord Rayleighf, by Kirchhoff J, 

 by v. Helmholtz §, and by M. Duhem ||. It seems that propo- 



* From the Bulletin International de V Academie des Sciences de Cra- 

 covie, Mars 1896. Communicated by the Author. 



t Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, June 1873. 

 The Theory of Sound/ i. p. 78 (1877). 



X Vorlesungen iiber Math.-Physik. Mechanik, 1876, Vorlesung xi. 



§ Borchardt-Crelle's Journal f. Mathematik, Bd. c. (1886); Wissen- 

 schaftliche Abhandlungen, Bd. iii. p. 203 ; ibid. Bd. ii. p. 958 ; Bd. iii. 

 p. 119. 



|| Journal de Mathematiques de lioumlle- Jordan (4) vol. viii. p. 269 

 (1892): vol. ix. p. 293 (1893); vol. x. p. 207 (1891). Seo further, 

 Prof. J. J. Thomsons ' Applications of Dynamics to Physics and Che- 

 mistry,' London, 1888, where the fundamental standpoint is a very 

 similar one, the chief object of investigation being, however, the theory of 

 reversible phenomena. 



Phil. Mag. S. 5. Yol. 41. No. 252. May 1896. 2 E 



