Experimental Test of the1/τ-Scaling Entropy Generation in Finite-Time Thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics can be described as the non-decreasing of the entropy in the irreversible thermodynamic process. Such phenomenon can be quantitatively evaluated with the irreversible entropy generation (IEG), which was recently found to follow a $1/\tau$ scaling for the system under a long contact time $\tau$ with the thermal bath. This scaling, predicted in many finite-time thermodynamic models, is of great potential in the optimization of heat engines, yet remains lack of direct experimental validation. In this letter, we design an experimental apparatus to test such scaling by compressing dry air in a temperature-controlled water bath. More importantly, we quantitatively verify the optimized control protocol to reduce the IEG. Such optimization shall bring new insight to the practical design of heat engine cycles.