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Article #5432

WHAT THERMODYNAMICISTS HAVE TAUGHT FOR 140 YEARS

#5432
From: Pentcho Valev
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2008 07:39
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http://www.beilstein-institut.de/bozen2004/proceedings/CornishBowden/CornishBowden.htm
Athel Cornish-Bowden: "The concept of entropy was introduced to
thermodynamics by Clausius, who deliberately chose an obscure term for
it, wanting a word based on Greek roots that would sound similar to
"energy". In this way he hoped to have a word that would mean the same
to everyone regardless of their language, and, as Cooper [2] remarked,
he succeeded in this way in finding a word that meant the same to
everyone: NOTHING. From the beginning it proved a very difficult
concept for other thermodynamicists, even including such accomplished
mathematicians as Kelvin and Maxwell; Kelvin, indeed, despite his own
major contributions to the subject, never appreciated the idea of
entropy [3]. The difficulties that Clausius created have continued to
the present day, with the result that a fundamental idea that is
absolutely necessary for understanding the theory of chemical
equilibria continues to give trouble, not only to students but also to
scientists who need the concept for their work."

http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00000313/
Jos Uffink: "The historian of science and mathematician Truesdell made
a detailed study of the historical development of thermodynamics in
the period 1822-1854. He characterises the theory, even in its present
state, as 'a dismal swamp of obscurity' (1980, p. 6) and 'a prime
example to show that physicists are not exempt from the madness of
crowds' (ibid. p. 8) ...Clausius' verbal statement of the second law
makes no sense...All that remains is a Mosaic prohibition; a century
of philosophers and journalists have acclaimed this commandment; a
century of mathematicians have shuddered and averted their eyes from
the unclean... Seven times in the past thirty years have I tried to
follow the argument Clausius offers... and seven times has it blanked
and gravelled me... I cannot explain what I cannot understand....This
summary leads to the question whether it is fruitful to see
irreversibility or time-asymmetry as the essence of the second law. Is
it not more straightforward, in view of the unargued statements of
Kelvin, the bold claims of Clausius and the strained attempts of
Planck, to give up this idea? I believe that Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa was
right in her verdict that the discussion about the arrow of time as
expressed in the second law of the thermodynamics is actually a RED
HERRING."

http://www.worldscibooks.com/popsci/etextbook/6261/6261_preface.pdf
Arieh Ben-Naim: "I waited patiently to ask something, though I was not
sure what the question would be. What is this thing called entropy and
why does it always increase? Is it something we can see, touch or feel
with any of our senses? Upon finishing her exposition, the lecturer
interjected, "If you do not understand the Second Law, do not be
discouraged. You are in good company. You will not be able to
understand it at this stage, but you will understand it when you study
statistical thermodynamics next year.".....Not only do we not know the
source which supplies the fuel for the ever-increasing entropy, but no
source is permitted, in principle, no feeding mechanism and no
provision for any supplies of anything from the outside. Besides, how
is it that "structure" and "order" have crept into the discussion of
entropy, a concept that was defined in terms of heat and
temperature?......I taught thermodynamics and statistical mechanics
for many years. During those years, I came to realize that the mystery
associated with the Second Law can never be removed within classical
thermodynamics......I believe that the turning point in my own
understanding of entropy, hence also in my ability to explain it to my
students came when I was writing an article.....Once the haze
dissipated, everything became crystal clear. Not only clear, but in
fact obvious; entropy's behavior which was once quite difficult to
understand, was reduced to a simple matter of common sense. Moreover,
I suddenly realized that one does not need to know any statistical
mechanics to understand the Second Law. This might sound
contradictory, having just claimed that statistical mechanics harbors
the clues to understanding the Second Law...."

http://www.worldscibooks.com/chemistry/6469.html
Arieh Ben-Naim: "A FAREWELL TO ENTROPY. The principal message of this
book is that thermodynamics and statistical mechanics will benefit
from replacing the unfortunate, misleading and mysterious term
"entropy" with a more familiar, meaningful and appropriate term...."

Pentcho Valev
pvalev@yahoo.com
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From: Pentcho Valev <pvalev@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: sci.physics.relativity,sci.physics,fr.sci.physique,fr.sci.philo,fr.sci.maths
Subject: WHAT THERMODYNAMICISTS HAVE TAUGHT FOR 140 YEARS
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2008 23:39:20 -0800 (PST)
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