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Equivalence of the Clausius and the Kelvin statements

Proved
SecondLawThermo.clausius_iff_kelvin

by Lucas · Oct 9, 2026 · Mathlib 0df444a (Lean v4.33.1)

carnotmathematical-physicssecond-lawthermodynamics

Throughout, Θ\ThetaΘ is a type of empirical temperatures carrying a linear order (s<ts<ts<t means the reservoir at sss is colder than the one at ttt), and a cycle is a finitely supported function c:Θ→Rc:\Theta\to\mathbb Rc:Θ→R: for each reservoir temperature ttt, the number c(t)c(t)c(t) is the net heat absorbed by the device from the reservoir at ttt in one complete cycle (negative when heat is rejected to it), and only finitely many reservoirs are touched. The work delivered in the cycle is

W(c)=∑tc(t),W(c)=\sum_{t} c(t),W(c)=t∑​c(t),

which is the first law for a device returning to its initial state. A set C\mathcal CC of cycles stands for the physically realizable ones; it is assumed to be a convex cone: 0∈C0\in\mathcal C0∈C, c+d∈Cc+d\in\mathcal Cc+d∈C (run two devices side by side), and r⋅c∈Cr\cdot c\in\mathcal Cr⋅c∈C for r≥0r\ge 0r≥0 (scale a device). A cycle is reversible when c∈Cc\in\mathcal Cc∈C and −c∈C-c\in\mathcal C−c∈C. A cycle operates between hhh and kkk when c(t)=0c(t)=0c(t)=0 for every t∉{h,k}t\notin\{h,k\}t∈/{h,k}. A Carnot engine between a hot reservoir hhh and a cold reservoir kkk is a reversible cycle operating between hhh and kkk with c(h)>0c(h)>0c(h)>0, c(k)<0c(k)<0c(k)<0 and W(c)>0W(c)>0W(c)>0. The efficiency relative to the hot reservoir is η=W(c)/c(h)\eta=W(c)/c(h)η=W(c)/c(h).

Statement. Let Θ\ThetaΘ have at least two elements and let C\mathcal CC be a convex cone of realizable cycles admitting a Carnot engine between every pair of reservoirs at different temperatures. Then

Clausius(C)  ⟺  Kelvin(C).\text{Clausius}(\mathcal C)\iff\text{Kelvin}(\mathcal C).Clausius(C)⟺Kelvin(C).

This is the article's assertion that the two classical statements of the second law — Clausius's "heat can never pass from a colder to a warmer body without some other change" and Kelvin's "it is impossible for any system to operate in a thermodynamic cycle and deliver a net amount of energy by work to its surroundings while receiving energy by heat transfer from a single thermal reservoir" — say the same thing.

Preamble
import Definitions.Def_SecondLawThermo_Defs
import Mathlib

Formal statement
namespace SecondLawThermo

theorem clausius_iff_kelvin {Θ : Type*} [LinearOrder Θ] [Nontrivial Θ] (𝒞 : Set (Cycle Θ))
    (h𝒞 : IsCycleCone 𝒞) (hCarnot : CarnotEnginesExist 𝒞) :
    ClausiusStatement 𝒞 ↔ KelvinStatement 𝒞 := by sorry

end SecondLawThermo
Source
Wikipedia, "Second law of thermodynamics", revision oldid=1378607758, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_law_of_thermodynamics&oldid=1378607758; section "Equivalence of the Clausius and the Kelvin statements": "The Clausius and the Kelvin statements have been shown to be equivalent."
Read-back

What the Lean code literally says, in plain math · Aristotle (Harmonic), the drafting agent itself; non-blind read-back

Disclosure: this read-back is NOT blind. It was written by the same agent (Aristotle, by Harmonic) that drafted these Lean statements, with full knowledge of the source text and of the intended meaning. It is therefore not independent testimony and must not be mistaken for an independent audit. Reviewers should check the Lean code against the source themselves.

Let Θ\ThetaΘ be a linearly ordered type with at least two distinct elements and let C\mathcal CC be a set of finitely supported functions Θ→R\Theta\to\mathbb RΘ→R, with W(c):=∑tc(t)W(c):=\sum_t c(t)W(c):=∑t​c(t). Assume 0∈C0\in\mathcal C0∈C, that C\mathcal CC is closed under addition and under scaling by nonnegative reals, and that for all k<hk<hk<h there is eee with e∈Ce\in\mathcal Ce∈C, −e∈C-e\in\mathcal C−e∈C, eee vanishing outside {h,k}\{h,k\}{h,k}, e(h)>0e(h)>0e(h)>0, e(k)<0e(k)<0e(k)<0 and W(e)>0W(e)>0W(e)>0. Then the following two assertions are equivalent:

  1. for all k<hk<hk<h and all c∈Cc\in\mathcal Cc∈C vanishing outside {h,k}\{h,k\}{h,k} with W(c)=0W(c)=0W(c)=0: c(k)≤0c(k)\le0c(k)≤0;
  2. for all ttt and all c∈Cc\in\mathcal Cc∈C vanishing at every s≠ts\ne ts=t: W(c)≤0W(c)\le0W(c)≤0.

The statement is an equivalence of the two assertions under the standing assumptions, not an unconditional equivalence.

Human review
  • Endorsed by Shuze Chen · Oct 10, 2026

    Confirmed by the moderator at approval.

  • Endorsed by Lucas · Oct 10, 2026

    Confirmed by the mission captain (proposal self-audit).

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