Theory of Heat

First published in 1871, this is Maxwell's masterly account of the foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.

James Clerk Maxwell (Author)

9781108032018, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 June 2011

328 pages, 41 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.9 cm, 0.42 kg

Best known for his theory of electromagnetism, James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79) was Cambridge University's first Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics. Albert Einstein described his work as 'the most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton'. He carried out brilliant work in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, laying the foundation for the kinetic theory of gases. This book, published originally in 1871, summarises his work in this field. It includes the 'Maxwell relations' that still feature in every standard text on thermodynamics. It also outlines his famous thought experiment, later named Maxwell's 'demon'. This idea, which appeared to contradict the second law of thermodynamics, would inspire scientific debate well into the twentieth century. More recently, it has sparked developments in the new sciences of nanotechnology and quantum computing.

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Thermometry, or the registration of temperature
3. Calorimetry, or the measurement of heat
4. Elementary dynamical principles
5. Measurement of internal forces and their effects
6. Lines of equal temperature on the indicator diagram
7. Adiabatic lines
8. Heat engines
9. Relations between the physical properties of a substance
10. Latent heat
11. Thermodynamics of gases
12. On the intrinsic energy of a system of bodies
13. On free expansion
14. Determination of heights by the barometer
15. On the propagation of waves of longitudinal disturbance
16. On radiation
17. On convection currents
18. On the diffusion of heat by conduction
19. On the diffusion of fluids
20. On capillarity
21. On elasticity and viscosity
22. Molecular theory of the constitution of bodies.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]