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Four Laws That Drive the Universe
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 536.71
EAN: 9780199232369
ISBN: 0199232369
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 128
Publication Date: September 27, 2007
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial Review:
The laws of thermodynamics drive everything that happens in the universe. From the sudden expansion of a cloud of gas to the cooling of hot metal, and from the unfurling of a leaf to the course of life itself--everything is moved or restrained by four simple laws. They establish fundamental concepts such as temperature and heat, and reveal the arrow of time and even the nature of energy itself.
Written by Peter Atkins, one of the worlds leading authorities on thermodynamics, this powerful and compact introduction explains what these four laws are and how they work, using accessible language and virtually no mathematics. Guiding the reader a step at a time, Atkins begins with Zeroth (so named because the first two laws were well established before scientists realized that a third law, relating to temperature, should precede them--hence the jocular name zeroth), and proceeds through the First, Second, and Third Laws, offering a clear account of concepts such as the availability of work and the conservation of energy. Atkins ranges from the fascinating theory of entropy (revealing how its unstoppable rise constitutes the engine of the universe), through the concept of free energy, and to the brink, and then beyond the brink, of absolute zero.
C.P. Snow once remarked that not knowing the second law of thermodynamics is like never having read a work by Shakespeare. This brief but brilliant book introduces general readers to one of the cornerstones of modern science, four laws that are as integral to the well-educated mind as such great dramatic works as Hamlet or Macbeth.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Nice review of thermodynamic laws
Compact and concise review of 4 laws of thermodynamics. Book explains the laws easily, using insightful examples, so almost anyone could read it.
Rating: - Can thermodynamics be made tasty?
To be fair, Atkins sets himself a difficult task: make thermodynamics palatable, and even tasty, to a general audience. I probably represent his target audience: I am college educated, and I worked for a couple of years as a biochemistry technician. I keep up with science topics through Scientific American and several web sites. And I enjoy the Science Channel whenever the cosmology shows are on. But I don't possess deep physics knowledge, save for dimly remembered college physics and chemistry courses. ... Read More
Rating:  - Hard to imagine who would benefit from or enjoy this book
This presentation of an intrinsically interesting topic is a logically correct derivation - which seems very important to the author - but to what purpose? To understand it the reader has to be comfortable with subtle concepts of physics, and to enjoy it the reader has to appreciate a development presented as if for a mathematical proof, with apologies if any items are mentioned out of order. But for someone with that level of scientific interest and background, it doesn't offer any insights or new ways ... Read More
Rating:  - Four Laws
This book is unevenly written. Much of it would be of value to the college-educated reader, much of it would not.
I have a doctorate in physical chemistry (Atkins' field) and could work through it fairly easily. I would not recommend it to my daughter (doctorate in biochemistry) and I am not sure about recommending it to my son (doctorate in solid state physics).
The discussion of temperatures below the absolute zero appears to have been put in just to be cute.
Rating: - Four laws that drive the universe
This book is clearly written, presenting the zeroth law, first law, second law and third law of thermodynamics taking the mystery out of the usual presentations of this subject.
Professor Atkins presents the thermodynamic laws starting with comparisons with mechanical systems that most people would understand and builds upon that for an easily understood treatise on the subject matter.
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