The Onsager Reciprocity Relations Revisited

The Onsager relations are discussed and it is suggested that they should be interpreted as there is a frame of reference where all the transport processes are independent. The concepts are illustrated with isobarothermal diffusion in simple metallic phases as well as complex ionic systems. A transformation from lattice-fixed frame of reference to number-fixed frame gives the Kirkendall effect as a cross effect.

Automated summary

The Onsager relations are discussed, suggesting that they should be interpreted in a frame of reference where all transport processes are independent. The concepts are illustrated using isobarothermal diffusion in both simple metallic phases and complex ionic systems. The transformation from a lattice-fixed frame of reference to a number-fixed frame is shown to result in the Kirkendall effect as a cross effect.