Applying the Action Principle of Classical Mechanics to the Thermodynamics of the Troposphere

Advances in applied mechanics have facilitated a better understanding of the recycling of heat and work in the troposphere. This goal is important to meet practical needs for better management of climate science. Achieving this objective may require the application of quantum principles in action mechanics, recently employed to analyze the reversible thermodynamics of Carnot’s heat engine cycle. The testable proposals suggested here seek to solve several problems including (i) the phenomena of decreasing temperature and molecular entropy but increasing Gibbs energy with altitude in the troposphere; (ii) a reversible system storing thermal energy to drive vortical wind flow in anticyclones while frictionally warming the Earth’s surface by heat release from turbulence; (iii) vortical generation of electrical power from translational momentum in airflow in wind farms; and (iv) vortical energy in the destructive power of tropical cyclones. The scalar property of molecular action (@t ≡ ∫mvds, J-sec) is used to show how equilibrium temperatures are achieved from statistical equality of mechanical torques (mv2 or mr2ω2); these are exerted by Gibbs field quanta for each kind of gas phase molecule as rates of translational action (d@t/dt ≡ ∫mr2ωdϕ/dt ≡ mv2). These torques result from the impulsive density of resonant quantum or Gibbs fields with molecules, configuring the trajectories of gas molecules while balancing molecular pressure against the density of field energy (J/m3). Gibbs energy fields contain no resonant quanta at zero Kelvin, with this chemical potential diminishing in magnitude as the translational action of vapor molecules and quantum field energy content increases with temperature. These cases distinguish symmetrically between causal fields of impulsive quanta (Σhν) that energize the action of matter and the resultant kinetic torques of molecular mechanics (mv2). The quanta of these different fields display mean wavelengths from 10−4 m to 1012 m, with radial mechanical advantages many orders of magnitude greater than the corresponding translational actions, though with mean quantum frequencies (v) similar to those of radial Brownian movement for independent particles (ω). Widespread neglect of the Gibbs field energy component of natural systems may be preventing advances in tropospheric mechanics. A better understanding of these vortical Gibbs energy fields as thermodynamically reversible reservoirs for heat can help optimize work processes on Earth, delaying the achievement of maximum entropy production from short-wave solar radiation being converted to outgoing long-wave radiation to space. This understanding may improve strategies for management of global changes in climate.