Laws of Thermodynamics : A Very Short Introduction

By:

Atkins, Peter

Series: Very Short IntroductionsPublication details: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2010Description: 103ISBN:

9780199572199

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

536.71 ATK

Summary: From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas or the cooling of a hot metal, to the unfolding of a thought in our minds and even the course of life itself, everything is governed by the four Laws of Thermodynamics. These laws specify the nature of 'energy' and 'temperature', and are soon revealed to reach out and define the arrow of time itself: why things change and why death must come. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Atkins explains the basis and deeper implications of each law, highlighting their relevance in everyday examples. Using the minimum of mathematics, he introduces concepts such as entropy, free energy, and to the brink and beyond of the absolute zero temperature. These are not merely abstract ideas: they govern our lives. In this concise and compelling introduction Atkins paints a lucid picture of the four elegant laws that, between them, drive the Universe.

List(s) this item appears in: New Arrivals September 2025-Liberal Arts and Humanities

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Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Book	Alliance School of Liberal Arts and Humanities	536.71 ATK (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		LA06034

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Previous	531.3 LON Elementary Treatise on the Dynamics of a Particle and of Rigid Bodies	532.05 CHO Textbook of Fluid Dynamics	532.05 CHO Textbook of Fluid Dynamics	536.71 ATK Laws of Thermodynamics : A Very Short Introduction	537.623 BLU Superconductivity : A Very Short Introduction	540.02462 JAI Engineering Chemistry	540.02462 JAI Engineering Chemistry	Next

From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas or the cooling of a hot metal, to the unfolding of a thought in our minds and even the course of life itself, everything is governed by the four Laws of Thermodynamics. These laws specify the nature of 'energy' and 'temperature', and are soon revealed to reach out and define the arrow of time itself: why things change and why death must come.

In this Very Short Introduction Peter Atkins explains the basis and deeper implications of each law, highlighting their relevance in everyday examples. Using the minimum of mathematics, he introduces concepts such as entropy, free energy, and to the brink and beyond of the absolute zero temperature. These are not merely abstract ideas: they govern our lives.

In this concise and compelling introduction Atkins paints a lucid picture of the four elegant laws that, between them, drive the Universe.

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