Reversibility and irreversibility

Reversibility and irreversibility

Reversible process is the one which can be retraced in opposite order by changing external conditions slightly.
Those processes which can not be retraced in opposite order by reversing the controlling factors are known as irreversible process.
It is a consequence of second law that all the natural processes are irreversible process.
Conditions for reversibility of a process are
(i) Process is performed quasi-statically
(ii) it is not accompanied by any dissipative effects.
It is impossible to satisfy these two conditions perfectly, thus Reversible process is purely an ideal abstraction.