Non-equilibrium thermodynamics Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Causa e effetto invertiti, entropia e sintropia, ordine e disordine, origine e scopo. Agli occhi della scienza il Tempo rimane ancora un enigma. Dall’America alla Russia passando per l’Europa, i misteri più affascinanti della quarta... more

Causa e effetto invertiti, entropia e sintropia, ordine e disordine, origine e scopo. Agli occhi della scienza il Tempo rimane ancora un enigma. Dall’America alla Russia passando per l’Europa, i misteri più affascinanti della quarta dimensione.

In this paper, using the combination of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, the work bounds in thermodynamic cycles are investigated generally and, to show the application, the results are extracted for some physical systems.... more

In this paper, using the combination of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, the work bounds in thermodynamic cycles are investigated generally and, to show the application, the results are extracted for some physical systems. Also, a new concept on the available work limits is extracted. To provide information on the maximum or minimum amount of work to be done during a thermodynamic cycle, energy balance, as well as irreversibility, should be considered. Entropy production during a thermodynamic cycle as a limiting criterion for work to be done is expressed as Clausius inequality. Therefore an inequality extracted from the first and second laws of thermodynamic to obtain lower and upper bounds of available work. The obtained upper bound of the work to be done is in agreement with Carnot's rule. The lower bound is obtained at the maximum possible irreversibility during the respective cycle.

Possibility of Perpetual Source of Energy

Something has meaning when it has the property of "information about" some part of the world with respect to an end or ends of some intentional system or agent. Intentional systems are end-directed systems, but not all end-directed... more

Something has meaning when it has the property of "information about" some part of the world with respect to an end or ends of some intentional system or agent. Intentional systems are end-directed systems, but not all end-directed systems are intentional. Not all end-directed systems require information about or meaning to determine their actions towards their ends. We need not invoke intenionality or meaning, for example, to explain the flow of a river down a slope, or the flow of heat down a temperature gradient from a hotter to a cooler region because these processes are explicable in terms of local physical potentials and laws. MORE...

The study On the Thermodynamics of War and Social Evolution, shows that patterns can be identified in the war dynamics of the System, and that a relationship exists between these war dynamics and social evolution. The research suggests... more

The study On the Thermodynamics of War and Social Evolution, shows that patterns can be identified in the war dynamics of the System, and that a relationship exists between these war dynamics and social evolution. The research suggests that Prigogine’s idea about non-equilibrium systems being able to attain highly ordered states in response to an increase of energy flux, can also be successfully applied to the social sciences. These new insights could have profound implications for our understanding of war (dynamics), and for our ability to better control and prevent war, in the future.I argue that the System can be considered a non-equilibrium system, and that the (relationship between) war dynamics - and the patterns they produce - and social evolution, can be explained from a (non-equilibrium) thermodynamic perspective: Interactions between components of the System (individual humans, communities, societies, states, etc.) are irreversible, and result in the production of entropy - tensions - in the System.
These tensions (entropy) serve as a source of order and are regulated by means of a dissipative structure that also puts kinetic activity (war) to use, to ensure the most efficient path to thermodynamic equilibrium of the System.

J. Non-Equilib. Thermodyn. 2001 Á Vol. 26 Á pp. 305±354 ... Thermodynamic Optimization of Flow Geometry in Mechanical and Civil Engineering ... Adrian Bejan1, Sylvie Lorente2 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science,... more

J. Non-Equilib. Thermodyn. 2001 Á Vol. 26 Á pp. 305±354 ... Thermodynamic Optimization of Flow Geometry in Mechanical and Civil Engineering ... Adrian Bejan1, Sylvie Lorente2 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA ...

Physicists are very familiar with forced and parametric resonance, but usually not with self-oscillation, a property of certain dynamical systems that gives rise to a great variety of vibrations, both useful and destructive. In a... more

Physicists are very familiar with forced and parametric resonance, but usually not with self-oscillation, a property of certain dynamical systems that gives rise to a great variety of vibrations, both useful and destructive. In a self-oscillator, the driving force is controlled by the oscillation itself so that it acts in phase with the velocity, causing a negative damping that feeds energy into the vibration: no external rate needs to be adjusted to the resonant frequency. The famous collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge in 1940, often attributed by introductory physics texts to forced resonance, was actually a self-oscillation, as was the swaying of the London Millennium Footbridge in 2000. Clocks are self-oscillators, as are bowed and wind musical instruments. The heart is a "relaxation oscillator," i.e., a non-sinusoidal self-oscillator whose period is determined by sudden, nonlinear switching at thresholds. We review the general criterion that determines whether a linear system can self-oscillate. We then describe the limiting cycles of the simplest nonlinear self-oscillators, as well as the ability of two or more coupled self-oscillators to become spontaneously synchronized ("entrained"). We characterize the operation of motors as self-oscillation and prove a theorem about their limit efficiency, of which Carnot's theorem for heat engines appears as a special case. We briefly discuss how self-oscillation applies to servomechanisms, Cepheid variable stars, lasers, and the macroeconomic business cycle, among other applications. Our emphasis throughout is on the energetics of self-oscillation, often neglected by the literature on nonlinear dynamical systems.

This chapter draws on insights from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to demonstrate the ontological inadequacy of the machine conception of the organism. The thermodynamic character of living systems underlies the importance of metabolism... more

This chapter draws on insights from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to demonstrate the ontological inadequacy of the machine conception of the organism. The thermodynamic character of living systems underlies the importance of metabolism and calls for the adoption of a processual view, exemplified by the Heraclitean metaphor of the stream of life. This alternative conception is explored in its various historical formulations and the extent to which it captures the nature of living systems is examined. Following this, the chapter considers the metaphysical implications of reconceptualizing the organism from complex machine to flowing stream. What do we learn when we reject the mechanical and embrace the processual? Three key lessons for biological ontology are identified. The first is that activity is a necessary condition for existence. The second is that persistence is grounded in the continuous self-maintenance of form. And the third is that order does not entail design.

This thesis deals with the dynamics of irreversible processes within the context of the general theory of relativity. In particular, we address the problem of the 'infinite' speed of propagation of thermal disturbances in a dissipative... more

This thesis deals with the dynamics of irreversible processes within the context of the general theory of relativity. In particular, we address the problem of the 'infinite' speed of propagation of thermal disturbances in a dissipative fluid. The present work builds on the multi-fluid variational approach to relativistic dissipation, pioneered by Carter, and provides a dynamical theory of heat conduction. The novel property of such approach is the thermodynamic interpretation associated with a two-fluid system whose constituents are matter and entropy. The dynamics of this model leads to a relativistic generalisation of the Cattaneo equation; the constitutive relation for causal heat transport. A comparison with the Israel and Stewart model is presented and its equivalence is shown. This discussion provides new insights into the not-well understood definition of a non-equilibrium temperature. The variational approach to heat conduction presented in this thesis constitutes a mathematically promising formalism to explore the relativistic evolution towards equilibrium of dissipative fluids in a dynamical manner and to get a deeper conceptual understanding of non-equilibrium thermodynamic quantities. Moreover, it might also be useful to explore the more fundamental issues of the irreversible dynamics of relativity and its connections with the time asymmetry of nature.

The mechanical performance of multi-phase steel microstructures critically depends on the constituents' chemical and morphological constitutions, which in combination determine the composite hardness, the onset of plasticity, internal... more

The mechanical performance of multi-phase steel microstructures critically depends on the constituents' chemical and morphological constitutions, which in combination determine the composite hardness, the onset of plasticity, internal load and strain-partitioning, as well as the stability and transformation ki-netics of retained austenite in case of TRIP steels. The novel approach of utilising temporary vessel phases, hence termed vessel microstructure design, enables the tuning of constituent phase properties by linking their formation to a controllable landscape of chemical gradients. This approach hinges on the introduction of alloy carbides as a temporary container, or 'vessel' phase, deliberately producing localised enrichment of alloying elements in a structure predetermined by preliminary heat treatments, referred to as conditioning and accumulation stages. These vessel carbides, which act as reservoirs for specific alloying elements, are then partially dissolved through flash heating, leading to a self-organising landscape of alloying elements in the vicinity of the dissolving particles. The resulting three-or multiple phase microstructures then consist of confined laminates incorporating retained carbides, enveloped by retained austenite shells, embedded within a martensitic matrix. Such complex yet entirely self-organized microstructures offer unique opportunities for strain and load partitioning which we refer to as core-shell micromechanics. Different variants of these core-shell composite structures are produced and examined together with reference microstructures by tensile testing, hardness mappings, impact toughness, X-ray measurements, as well as by electron microscopy. It is found that these novel micro-structures, when tempered, exhibit ultra-high strength and delayed necking, enabled by a combination of gradual strain-hardening and transformation-induced plasticity that is tuneable via control of the initial carbide structure.

Over its 4.6 billion year history, the time-dependent behavior of planet Earth, from the origin and emergence of life to the explosive globalization of human culture going on today, shows the progressive and accelerating production of... more

Over its 4.6 billion year history, the time-dependent behavior of planet Earth, from the origin and emergence of life to the explosive globalization of human culture going on today, shows the progressive and accelerating production of increasingly more highly ordered dynamic states. Recent advances in the study of spontaneous ordering provide both a minimal ontological framework required for causally addressing such systems, and the nomological basis for understanding the ubiquitous or universal generic nature of such ordering itself. This paper briefly outlines the main points.

We consider the Universe deep inside the cell of uniformity. At these scales, the Universe is filled with inhomogeneously distributed discrete structures (galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies), which perturb the background Friedmann... more

We consider the Universe deep inside the cell of uniformity. At these scales, the Universe is filled with inhomogeneously distributed discrete structures (galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies), which perturb the background Friedmann model. Here, the mechanical approach (Eingorn & Zhuk, 2012) is the most appropriate to describe the dynamics of the inhomogeneities which is defined, on the one hand, by gravitational potentials of inhomogeneities and, on the other hand, by the cosmological expansion of the Universe. In this paper, we present additional arguments in favor of this approach. First, we estimate the size of the cell of uniformity. With the help of the standard methods of statistical physics and for the galaxies of the type of the Milky Way and Andromeda, we get that it is of the order of 190 Mpc which is rather close to observations. Then, we show that the nonrelativistic approximation (with respect to the peculiar velocities) is valid for zlesssim10z \lesssim 10zlesssim10, i.e. approximately for 13 billion years from the present moment. We consider scalar perturbations and, within the Lambda\LambdaLambdaCDM model, justify the main equations. Moreover, we demonstrate that radiation can be naturally incorporated into our scheme. This emphasizes the viability of our approach. This approach gives a possibility to analyze different cosmological models and compare them with the observable Universe. For example, we indicate some problematic aspects of the spatially flat models. Such models require a rather specific distribution of the inhomogeneities to get a finite potential at any points outside gravitating masses. We also criticize the application of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution to the description of the motion of test bodies on the cosmological background.

This paper explores the connection between the second law of thermodynamics and the emergence and evolution of life on Earth. 60 years ago Schrodinger understood that the thermodynamically-open nature of living systems exempted them from... more

This paper explores the connection between the second law of thermodynamics and the emergence and evolution of life on Earth. 60 years ago Schrodinger understood that the thermodynamically-open nature of living systems exempted them from the constraints imposed by the second law, but it was not clear why such systems should exist at all. Now we’re coming to realize that, not only are open systems ubiquitous, but they are likely, and perhaps even necessary. Some open systems are characterized as dissipative, and they emerge as the system they are embedded in attempts to return closer to thermodynamic equilibrium. The emergence of life itself is a response of the surrounding system to the thermodynamic imperative of the second law. The stability and efficiency of metabolic processes over evolutionary time, as well as properties of entire ecosystems emerged to counter the effects of energy gradients applied to them.

Abstract. The recently suggested reformulation of Darwinian evolutionary theory, based on the thermodynamics of self-organizing processes, has strong philosophical implications. My claim is that the main philosophical merit of the... more

Abstract. The recently suggested reformulation of Darwinian evolutionary theory, based on the thermodynamics of self-organizing processes, has strong philosophical implications. My claim is that the main philosophical merit of the thermodynamic approach, made especially clear in J.S. Wicken's work, is its insistence on the law-governed, continuous nature of evolution. I attempt to substantiate this claim following a historical analysis of beginning-of-the-century ideas on evolution and matter-life relationship, in particular, the fitness-of-the-environment-for-life theory of the Harvard physiologist L.J. Henderson. In addition, I point to an epistemological common ground underlying the studies of the “thermodynamics school” and other currently active research groups focusing on the emergence and evolution of biological organization.

Evolutionary Economists have modeled a cultural thermodynamics which allows for valuations of novelty in the form of creative works. These models can act as lenses through which the creation, modulations, and destructions of artistic... more

Evolutionary Economists have modeled a cultural thermodynamics which allows for valuations of novelty in the form of creative works. These models can act as lenses through which the creation, modulations, and destructions of artistic value, as written about by the likes of David Joselit, Pamela Lee, Michael Thompson, and numerous others, can be analyzed. Beyond the limitations of Cartesian representationalism and Merleau-Pontean phenomenologies, beyond the performativism of Judith Butler and the borders delineated by the likes of Foucault, Niels Bohr, Kant and others, lies the reality of quantum entanglement, a concept yet to be reconciled with the world of art. Moving beyond agency as written about by the likes of Alfred Gell, beyond the interdisciplinary and into the intra-disciplinary, it is possible, with the help of Donna Haraway, and Karen Barad's explications on the entanglements of matter, meaning, and agency in conjunction with newly measurable aspects of environmental and human subtle energies, to move into the realm of thermodynamics, where something like David Summers' "Real Spaces" becomes a metaphor for "Real Energies." Here intra-agencies, while dissolved within the fabrics and networks of culture, can be revealed as energetic signatures.

Tsallis q-extension of statistics and fractal generalization of dynamics are two faces of the same physical reality, as well as the Kernel modern complexity theory. The fractal generalization dynamics is based at the multiscale –... more

Tsallis q-extension of statistics and fractal generalization of dynamics are two faces of the same physical reality, as well as the Kernel modern complexity theory. The fractal generalization dynamics is based at the multiscale – multifractal characters of complex dynamics in the physical space-time and the complex system’s dynamical phase space. Tsallis q-triplet of non-extensive statistics can be used for the experiment test of q-statistic as well as of the fractal dynamics. In this study we present indicative experimental verifications of Tsallis theory in various complex systems such as solar plasmas, (planetic magnetospheres, cosmic stars and cosmic rays), atmospheric dynamics, seismogenesis and brain dynamics.

There is solid evidence for the occurrence of large amounts of organic material in the cosmos, particularly in the form of aromatic compounds. These molecules can be found on the surface of Earth and Mars, in the atmospheres of the larger... more

There is solid evidence for the occurrence of large amounts of organic material in the cosmos, particularly in the form of aromatic compounds. These molecules can be found on the surface of Earth and Mars, in the atmospheres of the larger planets and on many of their satellites, on asteroids, comets, meteorites, the atmospheres of red giant stars, interstellar nebulae, and in the spiral arms of galaxies. Many of these environments are expected to be of low temperature and pressure, implying that the Gibb's free energy for the formation of these complex molecules should be positive and large, suggesting that their existence could only be attributed to non-equilibrium thermodynamic processes. In this article we first review the evidence for the abundance of these molecules in the cosmos and then describe how the ubiquity can be explained from within the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics on the basis of the catalytic properties of these pigment molecules in dissipating photons of the ultraviolet and visible emission spectra of neighboring stars, leading to greater local entropy production. A relation between the maximum wavelength of absorption of these organic pigments and the corresponding stellar photon environment provides a guide to determining which aromatic compounds are most probable in a given stellar neighborhood, a postulate that can be verified on Earth. It is suggested that at least some of the baryonic dark matter may be associated with these molecules which emit in the extreme infrared with many, but weak, emission lines, thus so far escaping detection. This thermodynamic explanation for the ubiquity of these organic molecules also has relevance to the possibility of life, both as we know it, and as we may not know it, throughout the universe.

Disordered matter still presents stringent conceptual difficulties. The often confused concepts of amorphous and glassy states (and corresponding material substances) were re-examined and previous attempts to trace a distinction are... more

Disordered matter still presents stringent conceptual difficulties. The often confused concepts of amorphous and glassy states (and corresponding material substances) were re-examined and previous attempts to trace a distinction are revised and thoroughly discussed. We examine several rheological and thermodynamical aspects of glasses in the glass transformation region as well as the dynamics of associated relaxation processes.

This paper describes the most advanced results obtained in the context of fluid dynamic simulations of high–enthalpy flows using detailed state-to-state air kinetics. Thermochemical non-equilibrium, typical of supersonic and hypersonic... more

This paper describes the most advanced results obtained in the context of fluid dynamic simulations of high–enthalpy flows using detailed state-to-state air kinetics. Thermochemical non-equilibrium, typical of supersonic and hypersonic flows, was modelled by using both the accurate state-to-state approach and the multi-temperature model proposed by Park. The accuracy of the two thermochemical non-equilibrium models was assessed by comparing the results with experimental findings, showing better previsions provided by the state-to-state approach. To overcome the huge computational cost of the state-to-state model, a multiple-nodes GPU implementation, based on an MPI-CUDA approach, was employed and a comprehensive code performance analysis is presented. Both the pure MPI-CPU and the MPI-CUDA implementations exhibit excellent scalability performance. GPUs outperform CPUs computing especially when the state-to-state approach is employed, showing speed-ups, of the single GPU with respect to the single-core CPU, larger than 100 in both the case of one MPI process and multiple MPI process. c 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

Whether by virtue of being prepared in a slowly relaxing, high-free energy initial condition, or because they are constantly dissipating energy absorbed from a strong external drive, many systems subject to thermal fluctuations are not... more

Whether by virtue of being prepared in a slowly relaxing, high-free energy initial condition, or because they are constantly dissipating energy absorbed from a strong external drive, many systems subject to thermal fluctuations are not expected to behave in the way they would at thermal equilibrium. Rather, the probability of finding such a system in a given microscopic arrangement may deviate strongly from the Boltzmann distribution, raising the question of whether thermodynamics still has anything to tell us about which arrangements are the most likely to be observed. In this work, we build on past results governing nonequilibrium thermodynamics and define a generalized Helmholtz free energy that exactly delineates the various factors that quantitatively contribute to the relative probabilities of different outcomes in far-from-equilibrium stochastic dynamics. By applying this expression to the analysis of two examples—namely, a particle hopping in an oscillating energy landscape and a population composed of two types of exponentially growing self-replicators—we illustrate a simple relationship between outcome-likelihood and dissipative history. In closing, we discuss the possible relevance of such a thermodynamic principle for our understanding of self-organization in complex systems, paying particular attention to a possible analogy to the way evolutionary adaptations emerge in living things.

Nature abhors a gradient: thermodynamics is life; life is mind. This is a review of a fascinating account of the physics of evolution - how nature's need to fulfill the laws of thermodynamics - the conservation of energy and the increase... more

Nature abhors a gradient: thermodynamics is life; life is mind. This is a review of a fascinating account of the physics of evolution - how nature's need to fulfill the laws of thermodynamics - the conservation of energy and the increase of entropy through gradient reduction - drives nature to come up with ever more ingenious ways of reducing the primary energy gradient affecting the earth - that of being bathed in high-grade solar energy for billions of years. Life forms can be seen as nature's creative attempt to dissipate heat back into space as it works to fulfill the requirements of the 2nd law.

The two-envelope problem has intrigued mathematicians for decades, and is a question of choice between two states in the presence of uncertainty. The problem so far, is considered open and there has been no agreed approach or framework... more

The two-envelope problem has intrigued mathematicians for decades, and is a question of choice between two states in the presence of uncertainty. The problem so far, is considered open and there has been no agreed approach or framework for its analysis. In this paper we outline an elementary approach based on Cover's switching function that, in essence, makes a biased random choice where the bias is conditioned on the observed value of one of the states. We argue that the resulting symmetry breaking introduced by this process results in a gain counter to naive expectation. Finally, we discuss a number of open questions and new lines of enquiry that this discovery opens up.

En 1962 el arqueólogo Lewis R. Binford publicó un artículo titulado "Arqueología como Antropología" en la revista American Antiquity. Se trata de un trabajo central en lo que vino a denominarse Nueva Arqueología o Arqueología Procesual.... more

En 1962 el arqueólogo Lewis R. Binford publicó un artículo titulado "Arqueología como Antropología" en la revista American Antiquity. Se trata de un trabajo central en lo que vino a denominarse Nueva Arqueología o Arqueología Procesual. Entre otras tantas cuestiones, Binford reclamaba que el objetivo de la disciplina arqueológica es explicitar y explicar la totalidad de las diferencias y semejanzas físicas y socioculturales de la existencia humana. La Arqueología Darwiniana comparte esta asunción, pero va más allá. Comprende la arqueología no solo como antropología -e historia- sino también como biología. Sus partidarios defienden que tanto la realidad genética y anatómica como la sociocultural de nuestra especie no se entienden verdaderamente si no es bajo la ley de la evolución, cuyo mecanismo se apoya en los pilares de la transmisión con variación y la retención selectiva diferencial de las unidades evolutivas a varios niveles: genes, memes, individuos, poblaciones, nichos ecológicos, etc. En esta obra se introduce al lector en las características elementales de este enfoque interpretativo en arqueología. Se exploran con cierta profundidad sus coordenadas teóricas básicas y se exponen diferentes ejemplos que ayudan a asimilar tales principios. Como el mismo autor reconoce, quizás uno de los grandes aportes de este libro a la Arqueología Darwiniana, y que lo diferencia de los trabajos teóricos de otros colegas, es la consideración de insertar también la realidad biológica dentro de un ámbito que la supera y que la integra: el de los sistemas termodinámicos en no equilibrio.

In this paper the some aspects of the teaching of Irreversible Thermodynamics are discussed, emphasizing relevant concepts needed by the engineering student, and future professional. The irreversible nature of real processes is presented... more

In this paper the some aspects of the teaching of Irreversible Thermodynamics are discussed, emphasizing relevant concepts needed by the engineering student, and future professional. The irreversible nature of real processes is presented to the student in the introductory level, in place of the more traditional disciplines concentrated on Classical Thermodynamics, which describes systems undergoing reversible processes, and which associates with the tendency of disappearance of structures. Impacts of irreversibility are depletion of natural resources and ecological damage, as we face today. Irreversible, open, non-linear systems are presented as of great interest to the Chemical Engineer. Coherent, purposive, and irreversible biological systems are also considered. Irreversible thermodynamics is presented as an element for the unification of a wide range of disciplines subjected to a fragmentation of a somewhat bureaucratic nature. This integration, resulted from the enormous develo...

Geometrical confinement can profoundly affect the dynamics of glass-forming polymers. In this context intense research has been mostly devoted to the understanding of how polymers subjected to 1-D confinement, that is, thin films, vitrify... more

Geometrical confinement can profoundly affect the dynamics of glass-forming polymers. In this context intense research has been mostly devoted to the understanding of how polymers subjected to 1-D confinement, that is, thin films, vitrify when cooled from the supercooled melt or recover equilibrium while in the glassy state. With the aim of extending our knowledge to other kinds of confinement, here we consider polystyrene (PS) nanospheres, that is, systems subjected to 3-D confinement. We investigate the physical aging following the enthalpy recovery in the glassy state employing fast scanning calorimetry, allowing heating/cooling rates as large as ∼1000 K/s. These systems have been previously shown to exhibit suppressed glass transition temperature in comparison to bulk PS. We find accelerated recovery toward equilibrium, in line with previous findings on other confined polymer glasses exhibiting weak interactions with the substrate. Furthermore, the time evolution of the enthalpy exhibits two mechanisms of equilibration. Apart from a slow one, normally observed in proximity of the glass transition, a fast, mildly activated mechanism of equilibration is observed. We emphasize the analogy with bulk glasses, also exhibiting this behavior though on considerably larger time scales.

The adsorption of cadmium (II) ions from aqueous solution by Nymphaea ampla leaf biomass was carried out with effects of initial cadmium concentration, solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and temperature of the process investigated.... more

The adsorption of cadmium (II) ions from aqueous solution by Nymphaea ampla leaf biomass was carried out with effects of initial cadmium concentration, solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and temperature of the process investigated. An adsorbent dosage of 120 mg showed maximum metal uptake capacity (qe) of 2.75 mg/g (82.6%) for an initial metal ion concentration of 2.0 mg/L and pH 7. Sorption equilibrium time was observed in 30 minutes. The equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherm models. Freundlich isotherm yielded the best fit to the experimental equilibrium adsorption data with a correlation coefficient (R 2) of 0.990. The kinetics of cadmium (II) ions adsorption was discussed using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models. It was discovered that the adsorption of cadmium (II) ions could be described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy (ΔG 0), enthalpy (ΔH 0) and entropy change of the sorption (ΔS 0) evaluated showed that the process was spontaneous, feasible and exothermic in nature. The results indicated that Nymphaea ampla leaf biomass can be used as an effective and low-cost adsorbent to remove cadmium (II) ions from aqueous solutions.