Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Theory of Heat

Theory of Heat

Theory of Heat

James Clerk Maxwell
June 2011
Available
Paperback
9781108032018
£34.00
GBP
Paperback

    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.

    Product details

    June 2011
    Paperback
    9781108032018
    328 pages
    216 × 140 × 19 mm
    0.42kg
    41 b/w illus.
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 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.
      Author
    • James Clerk Maxwell