The most exciting and significant episode of scientific progress is
the development of thermodynamics and electrodynamics in the 19th
century and early 20th century. The nature of heat and temperature was
recognized, the conservation of energy was discovered, and the
realization that mass and energy are equivalent provided a new fuel,
– and unlimited power. Much of this occurred in unison with the
rapid technological advance provided by the steam engine, the electric
motor, internal combustion engines, refrigeration and the
rectification processes of the chemical industry. The availability of
cheap power and cheap fuel has had its impact on society: Populations
grew, the standard of living increased, the envir- ment became clean,
traffic became easy, and life expectancy was raised. Knowledge fairly
exploded. The western countries, where all this happened, gained in
power and influence, and western culture – scientific culture –
spread across the globe, and is still spreading. At the same time,
thermodynamics recognized the stochastic and probabilistic aspect of
natural processes. It turned out that the doctrine of energy and
entropy rules the world; the first ingredient – energy – is
deterministic, as it were, and the second – entropy – favours
randomness. Both tendencies compete, and they find the precarious
balance needed for stability and change alike.
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The Doctrine of Energy and Entropy
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9783540462279
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
Springer
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter