The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short IntroductionCUP Archive, 25/03/2010 - 120 páginas The laws of thermodynamics drive everything that happens in the universe. From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas to the cooling of hot metal--everything is moved or restrained by four simple laws. Written by Peter Atkins, one of the world's leading authorities on thermodynamics, this powerful and compact introduction explains what these four laws are and how they work, using accessible language and virtually no mathematics. Guiding the reader a step at a time, Atkins begins with Zeroth (so named because the first two laws were well established before scientists realized that a third law, relating to temperature, should precede them--hence the jocular name zeroth), and proceeds through the First, Second, and Third Laws, offering a clear account of concepts such as the availability of work and the conservation of energy. Atkins ranges from the fascinating theory of entropy (revealing how its unstoppable rise constitutes the engine of the universe), through the concept of free energy, and to the brink, and then beyond the brink, of absolute zero. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam. |
Índice
FUNCTIONS OF TWO VARIABLES 1 Introductory 2 Diagrams | 1 |
Perfect differentials | 4 |
Mdx+Ndy when not a perfect differential | 6 |
THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS | 8 |
Measurement of heat | 9 |
Temperature | 11 |
The energy equation | 12 |
Combustion of fuel | 13 |
Carnots engine | 35 |
Carnot cycle | 38 |
Thermodynamic scale of temperature | 39 |
Any reversible process | 40 |
Historical note 8 9 | 42 |
SECT CHAPTER V ENTROPY 27 Definition of entropy | 45 |
12 | 48 |
Irreversible processes 29 Equations for reversible processes | 49 |
Internal combustion engine | 14 |
Continuous reversible processes | 15 |
Adiabatic processes | 18 |
Fluid working substance | 19 |
CHAPTER III | 21 |
A vapour and its liquid 16 Superheated vapour 17 E+Apv | 23 |
Throttled vapour | 25 |
Perfect | 27 |
THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS | 33 |
Example of apparatus for transferring heat | 34 |
A vapour and its liquid 30 | 50 |
Cycle with irreversible step | 54 |
15 | 55 |
Thermodynamic relations PAGE 45 46 49 50 54 55 699 57 60 33 Characteristic equations and specific heats | 57 |
7 23 23 25 27 | 60 |
34 | 61 |
40 | 64 |
Availability of heat | 66 |
ANY NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT VARIABLES | 69 |
Outras edições - Ver tudo
The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction Peter Atkins Pré-visualização indisponível - 2010 |
The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction Peter William Atkins Pré-visualização indisponível - 2010 |
Palavras e frases frequentes
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