A Study Of Thermal Conduction Of A Dilute Gas Based On Entropy Theory

Using the maximum entropy principle, we find a way to calculate the thermal conductivity of a dilute gas.We review the main methods of kinetic theory for a dilute gas, the laws of the thermal conductivity. We also review the thermal entropy, information entropy, non-equilibrium entropy and entropy production principles. We describe the maximum entropy principle and how to use it.According to the definition of the information entropy and the non-equilibrium entropy for a dilute gas carrying a thermal current, we give the constraint condition by considering the corresponding physical mechanics. Then by using the maximum entropy principle, we obtain how the non-equilibrium entropy depends on the thermal current. Further combining with the entropy production principles, we obtain the thermal conductivity of the dilute gas, which is close to the result of kinetic theory. The maximum entropy principle can be applied to study other steady transport phenomena.