TheH theorem and irreversible thermodynamics

Following a method first introduced by Prigogine, theH theorem is written as the law of increase of entropy for a slightly inhomogeneous gas. It is shown that the local rate of entropy production for such a gas is simply a homogeneous quadratic form of the generalized forces associated with the various irreversible processes with coefficients possessing all the properties of the phenomenological coefficients of irreversible thermodynamics. The local rate of entropy production is explicitly evaluated for a simple monatomic gas and is compared with the corresponding expression of irreversible thermodynamics.