Listen Now
Loading audio... Please wait for the audio to load before using controls.
0:0025:27
100%
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: AudiobookHub Recommendation
Chapter 2: If two systems share mechanical equilibrium, any third system equilibrated with one will also necessarily be in equilibrium with the other as well.
Chapter 3: The zeroth law concerns thermal equilibrium, enabling us to properly introduce and define the concept of temperature.
Chapter 4: The Boltzmann distribution describes how atoms are precisely apportioned among energy levels at any given temperature.
Chapter 5: The first law of thermodynamics states that an isolated system’s internal energy remains constant so long as no work is performed on it.
Chapter 6: Some heat is shed to the surroundings when it is converted into work, and work is required to move heat from a cold body to a hotter one.
Chapter 7: According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of the universe increases during spontaneous changes.
Chapter 8: The second law explains how cold sinks operate and the preferred direction of heat transfers.
Chapter 9: Entropy is a measure of how likely we can identify the energy state a molecule occupies.
Chapter 10: Enthalpy, Helmholtz energy, and Gibbs energy are valuable accounting tools used in thermodynamics.
Chapter 11: The third law of thermodynamics says that crystalline substances at absolute zero possess zero entropy.
Description
The Laws of Thermodynamics (2010) is a short and accessible introduction to thermodynamics, the field of physics concerned with the relationships between different forms of energy. Authored by one of the world’s preeminent authorities on the subject, Peter Atkins, it explains the four laws that govern the universe – the zeroth, first, second, and third laws. Along the way, The Laws of Thermodynamics unravels the workings of familiar-sounding concepts like temperature as well as more exotic ideas like entropy and energy states.
Who Should Listen
- Quizzical types who’ve always wondered how the universe works
- Humanities graduates looking for a gentle introduction to physics
- Folks who love a good mental workout