Thermal physics and Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the science that emerged from the necessity of optimizing heat engines and understanding phenomena associated with the transfer of heat. In Module 5 we will take a closer look at two very important episodes of this history.

The first is Fourier's Analytical Theory of Heat (1822) as it has a major importance not only for physics, but also for mathematics and philosophy.

The second episode concerns the challenges imposed by the conversion of heat in mechanical work (and vice-versa). We will look at some of the original formulations of the concept of entropy in the works of Carnot (1824) and Clausius (1854).

The amount of text is a bit bigger compared to previous modules, but remember that the idea is to give a first glance and formulate questions for further discussion (see Assignment 5: Questions Module 5)

Have fun!

Ricardo