The development of thermodynamics in the second half of the 19th century has had far-reaching impact on both technology and natural philosophy. True, the steam engine was converting heat into work before thermodynamics was developed as a branch of physics. But the systematic theory improved the conversion process, along with refrigeration and rectification and myriad other processes essential to modern life. So, thermodynamics has assisted humanity with cheap energy, cheap fuel and cheap, abundant, safer food. Thermodynamic research led to quantum mechanics, and to stellar physics. The expansion of thermodynamic technology and natural philosophy is reviewed in the book along with the struggles and fates of some of the engineers and physicists who pioneered the development.

Easy to read, all-embracing history of themrodynamics, informative, compact and sometimes amusing Describes the long development of thermodynamics incl. a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation to the conceptually simple and extremely useful theory that we know today Not only concentrating on the famous physicists who developed thermodynamics, but also on the engineers who have invented thermodynamic machines and processes, and on meteorologists, metallurgists and chemical engineers who applied thermodynamics in their field Includes a lot of original citations

Inhalt
Temperature.- Energy.- Entropy.- Entropy as S = k ln W.- Chemical Potentials.- Third Law of Thermodynamics.- Radiation Thermodynamics.- Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes.- Fluctuations.- Relativistic Thermodynamics.- Metabolism.