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Is there a definition for "reversible process" that applies to mechanical systems (such as a block sliding down a frictionless inclined plane) that is distinct from the definition of "reversible process" in thermodynamics?
If we apply the thermodynamic definition of "reversible process" to the situation of the block sliding down a frictionless inclined plane (and make the tacit assumption that the material of the block and the material in the plane are in thermal equilibrium) then the fact that block is moving with respect to the plane is irrelevant since we are only considering thermodynamic properties of the materials and no heat is being generated.
The definition of "reversible" process for mechanical systems is often ineffectively explained merely by saying that, in real life situations, mechanical processes are irreversible due to friction. This invites the reader to formulate a "default" definition for a "reversible" mechanical process and to define it as a process where there is no friction. That, in turn, would be consistent with the thermodynamic definition, which focuses on the properties of the materials that make up the mechanical system, not their motion with respect to each other.
However, there is a vague intuitive notion of reversibility for mechanical processes that says the process is reversible if it could go "backwards" in time. For a block sliding down a frictionless inclined plane we could imagine an (equally theoretical) structure consisting of a second frictionless upward sloping plane so the block would run up the upward slope, slide back down and replay its journey on the first inclined plane backward in time. However, unlike the thermodynamic definition of "reversible process" the block's path back to its initial state would not be taking a path through equilibrium states.
If we apply the thermodynamic definition of "reversible process" to the situation of the block sliding down a frictionless inclined plane (and make the tacit assumption that the material of the block and the material in the plane are in thermal equilibrium) then the fact that block is moving with respect to the plane is irrelevant since we are only considering thermodynamic properties of the materials and no heat is being generated.
The definition of "reversible" process for mechanical systems is often ineffectively explained merely by saying that, in real life situations, mechanical processes are irreversible due to friction. This invites the reader to formulate a "default" definition for a "reversible" mechanical process and to define it as a process where there is no friction. That, in turn, would be consistent with the thermodynamic definition, which focuses on the properties of the materials that make up the mechanical system, not their motion with respect to each other.
However, there is a vague intuitive notion of reversibility for mechanical processes that says the process is reversible if it could go "backwards" in time. For a block sliding down a frictionless inclined plane we could imagine an (equally theoretical) structure consisting of a second frictionless upward sloping plane so the block would run up the upward slope, slide back down and replay its journey on the first inclined plane backward in time. However, unlike the thermodynamic definition of "reversible process" the block's path back to its initial state would not be taking a path through equilibrium states.