Category Archives: energy

Riddle me this: why does a gas deviate from ideal behavior?

Years ago, during on-campus interview season at college, a friend of mine majoring in electrical engineering told of how difficult one of his interviews was.  “The interviewer asked me how an oscilloscope worked, and I carefully explained how to plug in the different wires and then how to adjust the knobs and so on.  HeContinue reading “Riddle me this: why does a gas deviate from ideal behavior?”

How to conduct powerful science? Check your ego at the door.

Observe nature, take measurements, and then propose as many hypotheses as you possibly can that are consistent with the data. In this way, you shift the focus from a negative conflict between scientists, each embracing their own individual hypothesis, to a positive, exciting, and team-based conflict between ideas in which technical debate among those with differing perspectives is encouraged in order to learn and not to win.

Carrying the Dreams of the Montgolfier Brothers to Other Worlds

Balloons – Early Thermodynamics Machines A team of JPL engineers tests whether a large balloon can measure earthquakes from the air. The team proposes to measure “Venus-quakes” from the upper atmosphere of Venus, using an armada of balloons. The author is on the left holding a fan to inflate the solar balloon. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechContinue reading “Carrying the Dreams of the Montgolfier Brothers to Other Worlds”

Electric Cars – Is “zero emissions” a valid claim?

I just read an article about an electric vehicle having zero CO2 emissions and thought it’d be an opportune moment to emphasize the value of thermodynamics in critically assessing such claims. Let’s walk through how this is done, starting first with a recap of the foundational mass & energy conservation laws. The conservation laws forContinue reading “Electric Cars – Is “zero emissions” a valid claim?”

The 170th Anniversary of the 1st Law of Thermodynamics — A Tribute to Rudolf Clausius

Upon publishing my book, Block by Block – The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics, Oxford University Press kindly invited me to write a post related to my book for their academic blog. I gladly accepted and chose as my topic the creation of the 1st Law of Thermodynamics by Rudolf Clausius’ work of 1850.Continue reading “The 170th Anniversary of the 1st Law of Thermodynamics — A Tribute to Rudolf Clausius”

Here’s Why I Wrote “Block by Block” (video)

I’m very excited to share in the below video why I wrote Block by Block – The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics. As you’ll see, I clarify my motivation and also the book’s structure. It’s a readable account of both the history and science of thermodynamics. Enjoy!