HEAT-CONDUCTION IN A METALLIC ROD WITH NEWTONIAN LOSSES

An experimental realization is presented of the problem of heat conduction along a one-dimensional rod subjected to an externally imposed constant temperature difference and allowing for heat losses to the environment. One end of the rod is at a fixed elevated temperature, while, untypically, both the lateral surface and far end of the rod are considered to be at the same fixed lower temperature. Newton's Law of Cooling has been invoked as a boundary condition. The experimental results are used to illustrate some fundamental concepts of nonequilibrium thermodynamics such as the meaning and temporal evolution of the different contributions to the entropy balance equation, including entropy production, and the influence of initial and boundary conditions on the steady state.