Phil Attard - Entropy Beyond the Second Law: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics for Equilibrium, Non-equilibrium, Classical, and Quantum Systems

Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics for equilibrium, non-equilibrium,
classical, and quantum systems

Phil Attard

IOPPublishing, Bristol, UK

IOP Publishing Ltd 2018

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ISBN 978-0-7503-1590-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-7503-1588-3 (print)
ISBN 978-0-7503-1589-0 (mobi)

DOI 10.1088/978-0-7503-1590-6

Version: 20180401

IOP Expanding Physics
ISSN 2053-2563 (online)
ISSN 2054-7315 (print)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Published by IOP Publishing, wholly owned by The Institute of Physics, London

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A theory is the more impressive the greater the simplicity of its premises, the more different kinds of things it relates, and the more extended its area of applicability. Therefore the deep impression that classical thermodynamics made upon me. It is the only physical theory of universal content which I am convinced will never be overthrown,

Albert Einstein, quoted in Schlipp P A (1979) Autobiographical Notes.
A Centennial Edition(Open Court Publishing Company) p 31

The law that entropy always increases holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Natureif your theory is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope

Arthur S Eddington (1928) The Nature of the Physical World
(Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) ch 4

There is no concept in the whole field of physics which is more difficult to understand than is the concept of entropy, nor is there one which is more fundamental

Francis Sears (1950) Principles of Physics I: Mechanics, Heat, and Sound,
(Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley) p 459

Few physical concepts have caused as much confusion and misunderstanding as has that of entropy

James Lovelock (1979) Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth,
(Oxford University Press) p 2

our science colleagues mayhelp us with entropy, which to me is a more difficult concept than anything economics has to offer.

Talling Koopmans (2005) quoted in Faber M, Niemes H and Stephan G
Entropy, Environment, and Resources: An Essay in Physico-economics
(Berlin: Springer-Verlag) p 77

The Second Law of Thermodynamicsentropy increasesis arguably the most fundamental law of nature, as the above quotations from Einstein, Eddington, and Sears attest. And yet for some, entropy itself is a mystery, the cause of confusion and misunderstanding. How can it be that something so fundamental and universal, as evidenced from the interests and expertise of the quoted authors, is so hard to grasp? How can it have happened that thoughtful people appreciate the significance and universal applicability of the Second Law without understanding the nature of entropy, its sole concern?

I blame Clausius, who in the middle of the 19th century initiated the field of thermodynamics by defining entropy as the integrated heat flow divided by the temperature. This is the empirical result of measurement and observation. It is undoubtedly mathematically and quantitatively correct, but it offers nothing in the way of understanding or reason or physical basis. To my mind it obscures rather than clarifies the nature of entropy, and it is little wonder that anyone approaching entropy from this view point should be confused.