02795nam 22004335 450 991079359600332120220405012747.09780300244908 (electronic book)0-300-24490-810.12987/9780300244908(CKB)4100000007745101(MiAaPQ)EBC5721843(DE-B1597)540349(OCoLC)1089126149(DE-B1597)9780300244908(EXLCZ)99410000000774510120200406h20192019 fg 0engurcnu||||||||txtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierThree laws of nature a little book on thermodynamics /R. Stephen BerryNew Haven, CT :Yale University Press,[2019]©20191 online resource (184 pages)0-300-23878-9 Front matter --Contents --Preface --One. What Is Thermodynamics? The First Law --Two .Why We Can't Go Back in Time The Second and Third Laws --Three. How Did Classical Thermodynamics Come to Exist? --Four. How Do We Use (and Might We Use) Thermodynamics? --Five. How Has Thermodynamics Evolved? --Six. How Can We Go Beyond the Traditional Scope of Thermodynamics? --Seven. What Can Thermodynamics Teach Us About Science More Generally? --IndexA short and entertaining introduction to thermodynamics that uses real-world examples to explain accessibly an important but subtle scientific theory A romantic description of the second law of thermodynamics is that the universe becomes increasingly disordered. But what does that actually mean? Starting with an overview of the three laws of thermodynamics, MacArthur "genius grant"; winner R. Stephen Berry explains in this short book the fundamentals of a fundamental science. Readers learn both the history of thermodynamics, which began with attempts to solve everyday engineering problems, and ongoing controversy and unsolved puzzles. The exposition, suitable for both students and armchair physicists, requires no previous knowledge of the subject and only the simplest mathematics, taught as needed. With this better understanding of one science, readers also gain an appreciation of the role of research in science, the provisional nature of scientific theory, and the ways scientific exploration can uncover fundamental truths. Thus, from a science of everyday experience, we learn about the nature of the universe.ThermodynamicsThermodynamics.536.7Berry R. Stephen440306DE-B1597DE-B1597BOOK9910793596003321Three laws of nature3745102UNINA