Sadi Carnot
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From steam to entropy: Creating a thermodynamics tour through Europe (and Yale)
I need your input on this. A friend of mine asked, “Bob, how about creating a European tour featuring the different locations where the founders of thermodynamics worked, including opportunities to taste the local beers?” I responded, “Great idea!” So what would that tour look like? Here’s a very rough outline based on chronological sequencing:… Continue reading
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The birth of thermo-dynamics!
In the years after 1850 a developed, established science with extensive theoretical structures and satisfactory experimental verification had to be re-established on a new basis; that of the axiom of the conservation of energy. This was the first time in history that such a thing had happened. It pre-dates the famous re-establishments that followed the… Continue reading
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Why was the science of heat conduction so difficult to comprehend?
[Thomson] existed as scientist and technologist, academic and entrepreneur, a philosopher and a practical man rolled into one… [He] had been described in his lifetime as Britain’s and perhaps the world’s greatest scientist. – David Lindley [1] Thermodynamics developed rapidly in the early 1850s due largely to the rapid back-and-forth progress achieved between Rudolf Clausius… Continue reading
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Reading Clausius – no easy feat
“The establishment of thermodynamics during the middle years of the nineteenth century – one of the great creative epochs of science – was so rapid and extensive that a whole new branch of knowledge was suddenly created, where previously there had been the old science of heat plus the substantially empirical technology of heat-engines.” –… Continue reading
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Standing on the Shoulders of Mentors: Sadi Carnot’s Inspired Science
It’s tempting to romanticize the image of 28-year-old Sadi Carnot, deep in thought in his candle-lit Parisian apartment, crafting the pamphlet that would pioneer thermodynamics. However, it’s crucial not to oversimplify his achievements by assuming he developed his ideas in isolation. Understanding the context is vital to appreciating the full significance of Carnot’s work. Standing… Continue reading
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The Newcomen Engine
[The Newcomen engine] belongs to that small but select group of inventions that have decisively change the course of history.” – D. S. L. Cardwell [1] The path to Sadi Carnot led through Denis Papin’s pioneering work with the piston (click here) and into Thomas Newcomen’s (1664-1729) invention of the first commercial steam engine in… 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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