Irreversible Processes

[Devon Shao 1E]

Hi, could anyone clarify on the characteristics of a reversible process and why it does more work than an irreversible one?

[Jeffrey Yang 3I]

A reversible process occurs in a closed system so that no energy is lost to the environment. The transfer of heat in a reversible process occurs between the system and its surroundings. An irreversible process has a loss of heat, or the process occurs in a way such that there is the reactants cannot be restored because the heat is lost (this usually occurs in an open system).

A way to connect this to entropy — in a reversible process, entropy is constant // in an irreversible process, entropy increases of the universe because heat is lost to the environment.