The Development And Current Trends Of Thermodynamics
Science and engineering to a large extent live in separate worlds with their own journals and conferences. It therefore took several years for thermodynamics to enter engineering circles. Well, in this article, ‘Current Trends in Finite-Time Thermodynamics,’ the author, Bjarne Andresen (a Professor of Physics at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen) demonstrates how finite-time thermodynamics can be used to develop methods to limit that extra expenditure, be it in energy, entropy production, money, or something entirely different. He reports that finite-time thermodynamics also includes methods to calculate the optimal path or mode of operation to achieve this minimal expenditure. To begin with, thermodynamics is the study of the inter-relation between heat, work and internal energy of a system. It is widely applicable in several branches of engineering and science. The British scientist and author C. P. Snow had an excellent way of remembering the three laws: “i) we cannot win (that is, you cannot get something for nothing, because matter and energy are conserved). ii) we cannot break even (we cannot return to the same energy state, because there is always an increase in disorder; entropy always increases). and iii) we cannot get out of the game (because absolute zero is unattainable). ” In simplest terms, the Laws of Thermodynamics dictate the specifics for the movement of heat and work. Basically, the First Law of Thermodynamics is a statement of the conservation of energy - the Second Law is a statement about the direction of that conservation - and the Third Law is a statement about reaching Absolute Zero. However, since their conception, these laws have become some of the most important laws of all science - and are often associated with concepts far beyond what is directly stated in the wording.
Early years of thermodynamics
Coming to the article, Andresen reports that in the early years of thermodynamics, several simple engine and refrigerator models were analyzed, simply to explore the possibilities of the new methods. These systems were optimized for maximum power production, maximum efficiency, and minimum entropy production. They typically consisted of named engines (Carnot, Stirling, Otto, Diesel, etc. ) connected to their reservoirs through simple heat transfer mechanisms. These could follow the Newtonian law, radiation law, Dulong–Petit law, or similar simple power laws. Along the way important insight was gained about the qualitative difference made by the presence of a rate independent loss and about the great similarity of the different transfer laws. However, nobody would base the design of a real engine or refrigerator on such simple models. For real designs much more elaborate models, developed hand in hand with experiments, are needed.
Current trends in thermodynamics
In essence, many people have declared thermodynamics a dead research field, fully explored and polished, a fossil. Notwithstanding it, the technological advances in thermodynamics prove such a statement utterly wrong. But what is still left to discover? It is always a pleasure to see a theory inspire developments in other areas than its own. This is evidence of the unity of science. One of the most important applications of thermodynamics ideas outside their own domain proper is in the general optimization algorithm simulated annealing. Further, the author believes that thermodynamic ideas have great potential: For instance, in chemistry we are able to derive predictions of reactions with great accuracy without any mention of the detailed reaction mechanisms of the reactants and products. Only the relative free energies of the components matter, combined with an assumption of rapid reactions. The energetics and the statistics will then take care of the rest. It is evident that an ecosystem is just a chemical soup with “large molecules”, so why shouldn’t thermodynamic concepts work there as well? As an answer to such a pressing question, thermodynamics has been introduced to ecology in its more traditional form.
Conclusion
Some of the greatest minds in the history of science have contributed to the development of thermodynamics. The science of thermodynamics has been developed over centuries, and its principles apply to nearly every device ever invented. Hence, its importance in modern technology cannot be overstated.
