irreverzibilitást

Irreverzibilitást, often translated as irreversibility, refers to the property of a process that cannot be reversed or undone. In physical and chemical systems, irreversibility is a fundamental concept, particularly in thermodynamics. A reversible process is an idealized theoretical construct that can be reversed by an infinitesimal change in conditions, restoring both the system and its surroundings to their original states. In contrast, irreversible processes always proceed in one direction and cannot be perfectly reversed. When an irreversible process occurs, some energy is inevitably dissipated, typically as heat due to friction, viscosity, or other dissipative forces. This dissipation means that the system and its surroundings cannot be returned to their exact initial states without some net change to the universe.

The second law of thermodynamics is intimately connected with irreversibility. It states that the total entropy of an isolated system can only increase over time, or remain constant in ideal cases where the system is in a steady state or undergoing a reversible process. Real-world processes are invariably irreversible, leading to an increase in entropy. This increase in entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness within a system, and its unidirectional growth signifies the fundamental directionality of time. Examples of irreversible processes include the mixing of gases, heat flow from a hotter body to a colder body, and the friction experienced by moving objects. The concept of irreversibility is also relevant in fields beyond physics, such as economics, biology, and psychology, where it describes phenomena that are difficult or impossible to undo once they have occurred.