Sestak captions this as follows:
“Economic application of the textbook Carnot thermodynamic cycle, where the solid arrows show traditionally the power cycle while the opposite cycle (dashed) shows the reverse heat pump (refrigeration process),. Correspondingly, the assumed business cycle (when replaced by the minimum Gibbs energy by maximum economic prosperity) can be imagined by using a less conventional representation of T as the mean property of a society, while retaining the meaning of entropy S (societal order/disorder) the same. In other words, products are manufactured in cheap (lower T) market and sold in a more affluent market (higher T). The shaded area represents useful work Q (either as heat or money) and the dotted line illustrates the more natural, non-equilibrium processing due to delays caused by, e.g. thermal conductivity (Curzon-Ahlborn diagram) or business transport obstacles. It is worth noting that a similar non-linear backgrounds will be shown characteristic for thermophysical measurements where, for example, s-shaped zero line is acquired for a DTA-peak.”
Joroslav's 2005 Science of Heat and Thermophysical Studies, contains a chapter eight on "Thermodynamics, Econophysics, Ecosystems and Societal Behavior". [1] |
“We need to look for some basic links between the mathematical description of particles strictly controlled by the laws of thermodynamics and human beings affected by their feelings.”
“Researching the analogy of physical chemistry to sociological studies of human societies is a very attractive area particularly assuming the role of thermodynamic links, which can be functional until the relation between inherent particles and independent people, is overcome by the conscious actions of humans because people are not so easily classifiable as are mere chemicals. Such feedback between the human intimate micro-world to the societal macro-state can change the traditional form of thermodynamic functions, which, nevertheless, are here considered only in a preparatory stage of feelings. Therefore this sociology-like contribution can be classified as a very first though rather simplified approach to the problem whose more adequate solution will not, hopefully, take another century [2105] as was the development of the understanding of heat and the development of the concept of the early elements.”