Thermodynamics and Relativity: A Revised Interpretation of the Concepts of Reversibility and Irreversibility

It is generally admitted in thermodynamics that, for a given change in volume, the work done by a system is greater in conditions of reversibility than in conditions of irreversibility. If the basic conventions of physics are strictly respected, it seems that this proposition needs to be reversed. Beyond this formal aspect, the discussion consolidates the idea that thermodynamics and relativity are closely connected.