Three Laws of Nature, R. Stephen Berry
Three Laws of Nature, R. Stephen Berry
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Three Laws of Nature
A Little Book on Thermodynamics

Author: R. Stephen Berry

Narrator: Eric Jason Martin

Unabridged: 4 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/09/2019


Synopsis

A short and entertaining introduction to thermodynamics that uses real-world examples to explain accessibly an important but subtle scientific theory

A romantic description of the second law of thermodynamics is that the universe becomes increasingly disordered. But what does that actually mean? Starting with an overview of the three laws of thermodynamics, MacArthur "genius grant" winner R. Stephen Berry explains in this short book the fundamentals of a fundamental science. Listeners learn both the history of thermodynamics, which began with attempts to solve everyday engineering problems, and ongoing controversy and unsolved puzzles. The exposition, suitable for both students and armchair physicists, requires no previous knowledge of the subject and only the simplest mathematics, taught as needed.

With this better understanding of one science, listeners also gain an appreciation of the role of research in science, the provisional nature of scientific theory, and the ways scientific exploration can uncover fundamental truths. Thus, from a science of everyday experience, we learn about the nature of the universe.

About R. Stephen Berry

R. Stephen Berry is James Franck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago and a 1983 MacArthur Fellow. His work has contributed to the understanding of the atomic origins of freezing, melting, crystallization, and glass formation.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Chris

“The Three Laws of Nature” is a good tour on the intellectual history of basic thermodynamics, mostly focusing on characterizing equilibrium systems, epitomized with Cornot’s cycle, to the discovery of the Boltzmann law, or the probability density function, who’s integral defines to the Botlzmann-Ma......more

An OK summary of theajor thermodynamic principles but with the classic pitfalls of an expert explaining their passion to what they envision as the layman. Author could have done a much better job in that respect. The result is heavy on technical terminology, making the assumption that the listener w......more

Goodreads review by Jack

Don’t get the audible version of this book. It’s an OK summary of thermodynamics for someone who has no experience with the topic. It’s an ok refresher for someone who took a course a long time ago. Kind of lightweight for engineers or scientists. I knew that going in. The problem I had was that the......more

Goodreads review by Todd

The line between being repetitive and making sure the main points are emphasized was crossed a few times, but I got the two or three nuggets for teaching I look for when reading popular treatments like this. Fun read if you're into thermo and the history of science.......more

Goodreads review by Jack

A little physics re-learned. Lots of familiar names. Concepts are hard for my thick head.......more