Understanding Thermodynamics (Dover Books on Physics)

After studying thermo for a bit, I have come to the conclusion that in order to really master it, you first need to understand it from the point of view of an engineer. Then from the point of view of a chemist. And finally, from the point of view of a physicist.This book falls into the first category, so I'd suggest reading it early. It has three great strengths: 1) it is only a hundred pages long, 2) it only treats systems with the very simplest of assumptions like constant heat capacities that are very helpful for the student, and 3) it has a couple of excellent and illuminating examples.The first example involves the thermodynamics of power plants. The second involves a mysterious, hypothetical device that has an input for compressed air and two outlets. The inventor claims that inputing compressed air at certain pressure will result in two output streams of air at different temperatures. Oh, the inventor also claims that the device has no moving parts and no batteries. Is this device possible? Van Ness gives a thermodynamic analysis using both the first and the second laws to show under what conditions such a device is at least consistent with the laws of thermodynamics. And yes, there are such conditions.Then van Ness reveals that such devices, called vortex tubes, actually exist and even have at some limited applications in the real world.These two discussions alone make this book a valuable read for anyone trying to understand the basics of thermodynamics. However, this book is still not a good first book on the subject, and the author is well aware of this fact. He states up front that this book is intended as a supplement rather than a main text.The final chapter is devoted to statistical matters. It seems that no one can write a thermodynamics book without giving into the temptation to say something about the statistical nature of entropy and the second law. Sometimes these discussions are helpful and sometimes they are not. Nonetheless, such treatments are guaranteed to do no justice to statistical mechanics, and this treatment is no exception. I did not care for his treatment of ensembles -- in particular the idea that systems in an ensemble can interact with one another, but it does allow him to get the results he's looking for in a reasonably quick and understandable way. Potentially illuminating or confusing depending, but the bottom line is not to rely on thermodynamics books for explanations of statistical mechanics. And this book loses no points from me for precisely this reason.

I would recommend the book to everybody interested in physics and at same time to be on upper level than someone who consider popular scientific literature sufficiently difficult. Moreover, undergraduated students of physics or any kind of engineering should read the book before taking courses on thermodynamics to get the essence of it and to better understand this rather complex part of physics.In the first chapter the author uses very simple example with cubes of sugar to explain what is conservation of energy. In subsequent chapters the first law of thermodynamics is introduced and demonstrated in connection with internal combustion engines and thermal power plants. After this, the concept of entropy is discussed and second law of thermodynamics is "derived". In the last chapter, the author brings connection between "macro" thermodynamics and statistical physics paving the way to quantum theory.All above mentioned topics are demonstrated on real-world examples. Used mathematics is simple, the most difficult parts uses Rieman integral.

We are in 1983, Hendrick is trying to show thermodynamics from different angles using mundane analogies so students can relate to (say before an university course). He starts explaining conservation of energy (first law) using an “unusual” story cooked up by Feynman. You will never forget the first law. NEVER. Because the mother goes incrementally deducing the conservation of energy using sugar cubes. Her son is playing with the sugar cubes in the living room and she just want to know what happens with them as the time goes by. The boy can eat the cubes. Or throw them in a lake or out of a window so squirrels may eat them. By the end of the story, she had figured out the first law of thermodynamics using her own means . This is a powerful methodology because learning becomes very entertaining (Feynman would emphasize that this is the only way of having fun learning).

Really well written expose on the intricacies of thermodynamics which are actually seated in the observation of nature! It fortifies the idea that conservation equations (energy conservation, mass conservation, ...., jelly bean and sugar cube conservation) cannot be derived but are observations of nature in the language of Mathematics. Boy, am I going to be articulate about this material when I teach thermodynamics for the second time over next year and part of that expected eloquence is because of the book and the nature in which material is laid out in it. My favorite section, so far, in this book would be that on "reversibilities" and how the quasistatic thermodynamic process has been explicated WITHOUT differential calculus symbols. A truly gentle and highly effective introduction to thermodynamics to undergraduate students, researchers and practicing engineers alike. I now have purchased both the e-book and the paper copy.

I love the intuitive approach used by Dr. Van Ness in this 103 page text and have read it more than once. The book is geared toward conceptual understanding, and is not a rigorous mathematical treatise. Yes, the basic equations are here in elemental form, but this is intended as an intuitive approach for engineers in the early stages of education. I highly recommend this book for anyone challenged by basic thermodynamics concepts or just for fun.