Block by Block: The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics

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Robert T. Hanlon (Senior Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering Practice, MIT, Massachusetts, USA)

Block by Block

The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics

Robert T. Hanlon (Senior Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering Practice, MIT, Massachusetts, USA)

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English

Oxford University Press
30 March 2020

Thermodynamics & heat; Thermochemistry & chemical thermodynamics

At the heart of many fields - physics, chemistry, engineering - lies thermodynamics.

While this science plays a critical role in determining the boundary between what is and is not possible in the natural world, it occurs to many as an indecipherable black box, thus making the subject a challenge to learn.

Two obstacles contribute to this situation, the first being the disconnect between the fundamental theories and the underlying physics and the second being the confusing concepts and terminologies involved with the theories.

While one needn't confront either of these two obstacles to successfully use thermodynamics to solve real problems, overcoming both provides access to a greater intuitive sense of the problems and more confidence, more strength, and more creativity in solving them.

This book offers an original perspective on thermodynamic science and history based on the three approaches of a

practicing engineer, academician, and historian. The book synthesises and gathers into one accessible volume a strategic range of foundational topics involving the atomic theory, energy, entropy, and the laws of thermodynamics.

By: Robert T. Hanlon (Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer School of Chemical Engineering Practice MIT Massachusetts USA)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 244mm, Width: 194mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 1.528kg
ISBN: 9780198851547
ISBN 10: 0198851545
Pages: 672
Publication Date: 30 March 2020
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Figures Introduction Acknowledgements Part I - The Big Bang (and the synthesis of the elements in stars) 1. The Big Bang: science 2. The Big Bang: discovery Part II - The Atom (hard spheres that attract and repel each other) 3. The Atom: science 4. The Atom: discovery Part III - Energy and the Conservation Laws 5. Energy: science (and some history) 6. Motion prior to Galileo 7. Galileo and the Law of Fall 8. Newton and the Laws of Motion 9. The lever 10. The rise of mv2 11. Bernoulli and Euler unite Newton and Leibniz 12. Rudimentary version of the conservation of mechanical energy (1750) 13. Heat: the missing piece to the puzzle 14. Joseph Black and the rise of heat capacity 15. Lavoisier and the birth of modern chemistry 16. Rise of the steam engine 17. Caloric theory: beginning of its end 18. The ideal gas 19. The final steps to energy and its conservation 20. Julius Robert Mayer 21. James Joule 22. The 1st Law of Thermodynamics 23. Epilogue: The mystery of beta decay Part IV - Entropy and the Laws of Thermodynamics 24. Entropy: science (and some history) 25. It started with the piston 26. Britain and the steam engine 27. The Newcomen engine 28. James Watt 29. Trevithick, Woolf, and high-pressure steam 30. Sadi Carnot 31. Rudolf Clausius 32. William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) 33. The creation of thermodynamics 34. Clausius and the road to entropy 35. J. Willard Gibbs 36. Gibbs' 3rd paper 37. Practical applications & Gibbs energy (G) 38. Dissemination of Gibbs' work 39. The 2nd Law, entropy, and the chemists 40. Clausius: the kinetic theory of gases 41. Maxwell: the rise of statistical mechanics 42. Boltzmann: the probabilistic interpretation of entropy 43. Shannon: entropy and information theory Afterword Bibliography Index Epigraph Permissions

Dr. Robert T. Hanlon earned his Sc.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and subsequently conducted post-doctoral research at Karlsruhe University in Germany. His professional career took him to Mobil Oil Research & Development Corporation, the Rohm and Haas Company, and then back to MIT where he is currently involved with their School of Chemical Engineering Practice.

Reviews for Block by Block: The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics

This is the book I wish I had 25 years ago! Bob Hanlon describes in beautiful detail the meaning behind thermodynamics concepts that our teachers and books missed. He provides new perspectives on entropy, heat and work, and statistical mechanics. Along the way we get to meet our heroes, people like Carnot, Clausius, of course Gibbs. A gem of a book! * Darrell Velegol, Distinguished Professor, Penn State University * This book is for those who frequently ask why is this happening? instead of what is happening? That's why this book is different than any textbook on this subject. It is such a rich material, organized in the way that gives to the reader (being an experienced professional or an under-graduate student) the ability to question and understand the concepts behind the Laws of Thermodynamics. The most important, reading this book is like reading a novel about a very exciting subject. * Dr Roger Riehl, National Institute for Space Research (INPE). *