Abstract
An expression is derived for the equilibrium free energy difference between two configurations of a system, in terms of an ensemble of finite-time measurements of the work performed in parametrically switching from one configuration to the other. Two well-known identities emerge as limiting cases of this result.
- Received 7 June 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.2690
©1997 American Physical Society
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This article appears in the following collection:
Letters from the Past - A PRL Retrospective
2008 marked PRL’s 50th anniversary. As part of the celebrations a collection of milestone Letters was started. The collection contains Letters that have made long-lived contributions to physics, either by announcing significant discoveries, or by initiating new areas of research.
