Thermodynamic Weirdness

Thermodynamics has never been easier to understand than in this non-mathematical account revealing the simplicity, principles, and key players of this fascinating branch of physics.

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. You’ll learn about:

• The invention of temperature
• Heat as a form of motion or material fluid
• Carnot’s analysis of heat engines
• William Thomson (or Lord Kelvin) and his two definitions of absolute temperature
• Energy as the mechanical equivalent of heat
• 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
• Einstein’s assessment of classical thermodynamics

Featuring primary sources by Daniel Fahrenheit, Antoine Lavoisier, James Joule, and many others, Thermodynamic Weirdness is an accessible, non-technical deep-dive into this strange branch of physics.