Discrete systems in thermal physics and engineering: a glance from non-equilibrium thermodynamics

Non-equilibrium processes in Schottky systems generate by projection onto the equilibrium subspace reversible accompanying processes for which the non-equilibrium variables are functions of the equilibrium ones. The embedding theorem which guarantees the compatibility of the accompanying processes with the non-equilibrium entropy is proved. The non-equilibrium entropy is defined as a state function on the non-equilibrium state space containing the contact temperature as a non-equilibrium variable. If the entropy production does not depend on the internal energy, the contact temperature changes into the thermostatic temperature also in non-equilibrium, a fact which allows to use temperature as a primitive concept in non-equilibrium. The dissipation inequality is revisited, and an efficiency of generalized cyclic processes beyond the Carnot process is achieved.