The Free Energy as a Probabilistic‐Informational Distance

Abstract

The association of the principle of Jaynes, with a new probabilistic‐informational concept — the opacity functional — conceived by Magur‐Schächter, is said to lead to an abstract framework where it is possible to put a measure on the distance between an instantaneous evolving state and the corresponding equilibrium state. An illustration is given for the Helmholtz thermodynamic potential of a perfect gas, which reveals the significance of such a distance. The treatment of this particular case suggests the possibility of a new and general method for a probabilistic‐informational approach developed by the ideas of Onsager, Prigogine, Jaynes, Truesdell and Tykodi.

Citation

Schächter, F. (1988), "The Free Energy as a Probabilistic‐Informational Distance", Kybernetes, Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 52-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb005803