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Overview
An account of the concepts and intellectual structure of classical thermodynamics that reveals the subject's simplicity and coherence.
Students of physics, chemistry, and engineering are taught classical thermodynamics through its methods—a “problems first” approach that neglects the subject's concepts and intellectual structure. In Thermodynamic Weirdness , Don Lemons fills this gap, offering a nonmathematical account of the ideas of classical thermodynamics in all its non-Newtonian “weirdness. ” By emphasizing the ideas and their relationship to one another, Lemons reveals the simplicity and coherence of classical thermodynamics.
Lemons presents concepts in an order that is both chronological and logical, mapping the rise and fall of ideas in such a way that the ideas that were abandoned illuminate the ideas that took their place. Selections from primary sources, including writings by Daniel Fahrenheit, Antoine Lavoisier, James Joule, and others, appear at the end of most chapters. Lemons covers the invention of temperature; heat as a form of motion or as a material fluid; Carnot's analysis of heat engines; William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and his two definitions of absolute temperature; and energy as the mechanical equivalent of heat. He explains early versions of the first and second laws of thermodynamics; entropy and the law of entropy non-decrease; the differing views of Lord Kelvin and Rudolf Clausius on the fate of the universe; the zeroth and third laws of thermodynamics; and Einstein's assessment of classical thermodynamics as “the only physical theory of universal content which I am convinced will never be overthrown. ”
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262538947 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | MIT Press |
| Publication date: | 02/25/2020 |
| Series: | The MIT Press |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 190 |
| Sales rank: | 521,914 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d) |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Inventing Temperature 1
1.1 Hot and Cold 1
1.2 Thermometers 1
1.3 Empirical Temperature 4
1.4 The Problem of Nomic Measurement 4
1.5 Linearity, the Method of Mixtures, and Reproducibility 7
1.6 Air Thermometers 8
Daniel G. Fahrenheit, 1724 10
2 Heat and Caloric 13
2.1 Quantifying and Conserving Heat 13
2.2 Caloric 15
2.3 The Motion We Call Heat 17
2.4 Heat in Thermodynamics 18
Joseph Black, 1764 19
Antoine Lavoisier, 1789 23
Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford), 1798 28
3 Carnot's Analysis 35
3.1 Steam Engines 35
3.2 Carnot's Law 36
3.3 Carnot's Waterwheel 38
3.4 Carnot's Engine 39
3.5 Reversibility and Carnot's Theorem 42
3.6 Carnot's Function 43
Sadi Carnot, 1824 46
4 Absolute Temperature 61
4.1 William Thomson 61
4.2 Thomson's 1848 Definition of Absolute Temperature 62
4.3 Carnot's Function Revealed 64
4.4 Prelude and Postlude 65
William Thomson (Kelvin), 1848 66
5 Mechanical Equivalent of Heat 75
5.1 Caloric: Conserved or Consumed? 75
5.2 Julius Robert von Mayer 77
5.3 Mechanical Equivalent of Heat 78
5.4 James joule 82
Robert von Mayer, 1842 85
James Joule, 1845 92
6 First Law of Thermodynamics 97
6.1 Rudolf Clausius 97
6.2 System, State, and Boundary 99
6.3 The First Law 101
6.4 Energy in Thermodynamic and Newtonian Systems 103
6.5 The Conservation of Energy 103
Rudolf Clausius, 1850 105
Rudolf Clausius, 1854 108
7 Second Law of Thermodynamics 113
7.1 The Independence of the First and Second Laws 113
7.2 Carnot's Second Law 115
7.3 Clausius's Second Law 117
7.4 Thomson's Second Law 118
7.5 "As Many Formulations" 120
Rudolf Clausius, 1863 121
8 Absolute Temperature-Again 127
8.1 Another Try 127
8.2 Thomson's Simple Choice 130
8.3 Absolute Zero 132
8.4 The 1848 and 1851 Definitions Harmonized 133
William Thomson (Kelvin), 1851 134
9 Entropy 137
9.1 The Word Entropy 137
9.2 Incrementing Entropy 138
9.3 Entropy's Deep Foundations 139
9.4 Clausius's Theorem Illustrated 141
9.5 But What Is Entropy, Really? 142
Rudolf Clausius, 1862 144
10 Law of Entropy Nondecrease 149
10.1 Irreversible Heat Transfer 149
10.2 Irreversible Work 151
10.3 The Law of Entropy Nondecrease 153
11 The Fate of the Universe? 157
11.1 Energy Dissipation 157
11.2 Universal Heat Death 158
Rudolf Clausius, 1865 160
12 Classical Thermodynamics 163
12.1 The Third Law 163
12.2 The Zeroth Law 164
12.3 Einstein on Classical Thermodynamics 165
Annotated Bibliography 169
Index 173
What People are Saying About This
“From machine learning to quantum gravity, thermodynamics is back - and, for most of us, as puzzling as ever. Don's book is unique: a (literally) steampunk introduction to the field that uses the history of science to put the strangeness of its core concepts on display.”
—Simon DeDeo, Carnegie Mellon University and the Santa Fe Institute"Thermodynamic Weirdness by Don Lemons is a book many of us have been waiting a lifetime for. The historical formulation of Classical Thermodynamics presents one of the greatest human sleuthing tales that science has to tell, and this carefully researched book lays out the story in all its dramatic detail. Only a real scientist with serious humanistic leaning and learning could have written this book. I warmly congratulate the author.”
—Louis J. Buchholz, Professor of Physics Emeritus, California State University, Chico“In Thermodynamic Weirdness, Don Lemons provides a fresh look at thermodynamics and thermodynamics pedagogy. He elegantly walks us through the laws of thermodynamics armed with a raft of historical documents analyzed with great clarity and with his unique insight. This book would make an excellent companion to traditional thermodynamics texts for any student of physics seeking a deeper understanding of what is definitely a 'weird' subject.”
—Edward A. Whittaker, Professor of Physics, Stevens Institute of Technology"This little book addresses the 'why' as well as the 'how' of classical thermodynamics through a historical analysis of the struggles of the founders themselves, using clear discussions and carefully selected readings from their original writings. It will appeal to students who want to go beyond the superficial (although highly successful) formalism of classical thermodynamics and understand its laws at a more fundamental level."
—H.J. Melosh, Distinguished Professor, Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Science, Purdue University