Christiaan Huygens
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Thermo (Q) and dynamics (W) meet for the first time inside the piston
Thermodynamics arguably began with the piston, since it was the invention of the piston that first enabled the transformation of heat into work. In 1850 Rudolf Clausius quantified this transformation in his 1st Law of Thermo (heat)-Dynamics (work) when he conducted an energy balance around the piston: ∆U = Q - W The change in internal energy (U) of… Continue reading
Block by Block – The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics. “Hanlon has written a masterpiece.” – Mike Pauken, Senior Engineer, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and author of Thermodynamics for Dummies
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About Me
Hi! I’m Bob Hanlon. After earning my Sc.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enjoying a long career in both industry and academia, I’ve returned to school, my own self-guided school, seeking to better understand the world of thermodynamics. Please join me on my journey.
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