Timeline of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and random processes
Encyclopedia
A timeline
of events related to thermodynamics
.
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
of events related to thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
.
Before 1800
- 1650 – Otto von GuerickeOtto von GuerickeOtto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, and politician...
builds the first vacuum pumpVacuum pumpA vacuum pump is a device that removes gas molecules from a sealed volume in order to leave behind a partial vacuum. The first vacuum pump was invented in 1650 by Otto von Guericke.- Types :Pumps can be broadly categorized according to three techniques:... - 1660 – Robert BoyleRobert BoyleRobert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
experimentally discovers Boyle's LawBoyle's lawBoyle's law is one of many gas laws and a special case of the ideal gas law. Boyle's law describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system...
, relating the pressure and volume of a gas (published 1662) - 1665 – Robert HookeRobert HookeRobert Hooke FRS was an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath.His adult life comprised three distinct periods: as a scientific inquirer lacking money; achieving great wealth and standing through his reputation for hard work and scrupulous honesty following the great fire of 1666, but...
stated: "Heat being nothing else but a very brisk and vehement agitation of the parts of a body." - 1669 – J.J. Becher puts forward a theory of combustionCombustionCombustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
involving combustible earth (LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
terra pinguis). - 1676–1689 – Gottfried LeibnizGottfried LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
develops the concept of vis vivaVis vivaIn the history of science, vis viva is an obsolete scientific theory that served as an elementary and limited early formulation of the principle of conservation of energy...
, a limited version of the conservation of energyConservation of energyThe nineteenth century law of conservation of energy is a law of physics. It states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. The total energy is said to be conserved over time... - 1679 – Denis PapinDenis PapinDenis Papin was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the steam engine and of the pressure cooker.-Life in France:...
designed a steam digesterSteam digesterThe steam digester is a high-pressure cooker invented by French physicist Denis Papin in 1679. It is a device for extracting fats from bones in a high-pressure steam environment, which also renders them brittle enough to be easily ground into bone meal...
which inspired the development of the piston-and-cylinder steam engine. - 1694–1734 – Georg Ernst StahlGeorg Ernst StahlGeorg Ernst Stahl was a German chemist and physician.He was born at Ansbach. Having graduated in medicine at the University of Jena in 1683, he became court physician to Duke Johann Ernst of Sachsen Weimar in 1687...
names Becher's combustible earth as phlogiston and develops the theory - 1698 – Thomas SaveryThomas SaveryThomas Savery was an English inventor, born at Shilstone, a manor house near Modbury, Devon, England.-Career:Savery became a military engineer, rising to the rank of Captain by 1702, and spent his free time performing experiments in mechanics...
patented an early steam engine - 1702 – Guillaume AmontonsGuillaume AmontonsGuillaume Amontons was a French scientific instrument inventor and physicist. He was one of the pioneers in tribology, apart from Leonardo da Vinci, John Theophilus Desaguliers, Leonard Euler and Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.-Life:Guillaume was born in Paris, France. His father was a lawyer from...
introduces the concept of absolute zeroAbsolute zeroAbsolute zero is the theoretical temperature at which entropy reaches its minimum value. The laws of thermodynamics state that absolute zero cannot be reached using only thermodynamic means....
, based on observations of gasGasGas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
es - 1738 – Daniel BernoulliDaniel BernoulliDaniel Bernoulli was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics...
publishes Hydrodynamica, initiating the kinetic theoryKinetic theoryThe kinetic theory of gases describes a gas as a large number of small particles , all of which are in constant, random motion. The rapidly moving particles constantly collide with each other and with the walls of the container... - 1761 – Joseph BlackJoseph BlackJoseph Black FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was professor of Medicine at University of Glasgow . James Watt, who was appointed as philosophical instrument maker at the same university...
discovers that iceIceIce is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
absorbs heatHeatIn physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
without changing its temperatureTemperatureTemperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
when melting - 1772 – Black's student Daniel RutherfordDaniel RutherfordDaniel Rutherford was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who is most famous for the isolation of nitrogen in 1772.Rutherford was the uncle of the novelist Sir Walter Scott.-Early life:...
discovers nitrogenNitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, which he calls phlogisticated air, and together they explain the results in terms of the phlogiston theoryPhlogiston theoryThe phlogiston theory , first stated in 1667 by Johann Joachim Becher, is an obsolete scientific theory that postulated the existence of a fire-like element called "phlogiston", which was contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion... - 1776 – John SmeatonJohn SmeatonJohn Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
publishes a paper on experimentExperimentAn experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
s related to powerPower (physics)In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
, workMechanical workIn physics, work is a scalar quantity that can be described as the product of a force times the distance through which it acts, and it is called the work of the force. Only the component of a force in the direction of the movement of its point of application does work...
, momentumMomentumIn classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
, and kinetic energyKinetic energyThe kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
, supporting the conservation of energy - 1777 – Carl Wilhelm ScheeleCarl Wilhelm ScheeleCarl Wilhelm Scheele was a German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist. Isaac Asimov called him "hard-luck Scheele" because he made a number of chemical discoveries before others who are generally given the credit...
distinguishes heat transferHeat transferHeat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the exchange of thermal energy from one physical system to another. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as heat conduction, convection, thermal radiation, and phase-change transfer...
by thermal radiationThermal radiationThermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation....
from that by convectionConvectionConvection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
and conductionHeat conductionIn heat transfer, conduction is a mode of transfer of energy within and between bodies of matter, due to a temperature gradient. Conduction means collisional and diffusive transfer of kinetic energy of particles of ponderable matter . Conduction takes place in all forms of ponderable matter, viz.... - 1783 – Antoine LavoisierAntoine LavoisierAntoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
discovers oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
and develops an explanation for combustion; in his paper "Réflexions sur le phlogistique", he deprecates the phlogiston theory and proposes a caloric theoryCaloric theoryThe caloric theory is an obsolete scientific theory that heat consists of a self-repellent fluid called caloric that flows from hotter bodies to colder bodies. Caloric was also thought of as a weightless gas that could pass in and out of pores in solids and liquids... - 1784 – Jan IngenhouszJan IngenhouszJan Ingenhousz or Ingen-Housz FRS was a Dutch physiologist, biologist and chemist. He is best known for showing that light is essential to photosynthesis and thus having discovered photosynthesis. He also discovered that plants, like animals, have cellular respiration...
describes Brownian motionBrownian motionBrownian motion or pedesis is the presumably random drifting of particles suspended in a fluid or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements, which is often called a particle theory.The mathematical model of Brownian motion has several real-world applications...
of charcoal particles on water - 1791 – Pierre PrévostPierre PrévostPierre Prévost was a Swiss philosopher and physicist. In he showed that all bodies radiate heat, no matter how hot or cold they are.-Life:...
shows that all bodies radiate heat, no matter how hot or cold they are - 1798 – Count Rumford (Benjamin ThompsonBenjamin ThompsonSir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford , FRS was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics. He also served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Loyalist forces in America during the American...
) performs measurements of the frictionFrictionFriction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
al heat generated in boring cannonCannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s and develops the idea that heat is a form of kinetic energyKinetic energyThe kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
; his measurements refute caloric theory, but are imprecise enough to leave room for doubt
1800–1847
- 1802 – Joseph Louis Gay-LussacJoseph Louis Gay-Lussac- External links :* from the American Chemical Society* from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 10th Edition * , Paris...
publishes Charles's lawCharles's lawCharles' law is an experimental gas law which describes how gases tend to expand when heated. It was first published by French natural philosopher Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac in 1802, although he credited the discovery to unpublished work from the 1780s by Jacques Charles...
, discovered (but unpublished) by Jacques CharlesJacques CharlesJacques Alexandre César Charles was a French inventor, scientist, mathematician, and balloonist.Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon in August 1783, then in December 1783, Charles and his co-pilot Nicolas-Louis Robert ascended to a height of about...
around 1787; this shows the dependency between temperature and volume. Gay-Lussac also formulates the law relating temperature with pressure (the pressure law, or Gay-Lussac's lawGay-Lussac's lawThe expression Gay-Lussac's law is used for each of the two relationships named after the French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and which concern the properties of gases, though it is more usually applied to his law of combining volumes, the first listed here...
) - 1804 – Sir John LeslieJohn Leslie (physicist)Sir John Leslie was a Scottish mathematician and physicist best remembered for his research into heat.Leslie gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first artificial production of ice.In 1804, he experimented with radiant heat using...
observes that a matte black surface radiates heat more effectively than a polished surface, suggesting the importance of black body radiation - 1805 – William Hyde WollastonWilliam Hyde WollastonWilliam Hyde Wollaston FRS was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore.-Biography:...
defends the conservation of energy in On the Force of Percussion - 1808 – John DaltonJohn DaltonJohn Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
defends caloric theory in A New System of Chemistry and describes how it combines with matter, especially gasGasGas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
es; he proposes that the heat capacityHeat capacityHeat capacity , or thermal capacity, is the measurable physical quantity that characterizes the amount of heat required to change a substance's temperature by a given amount...
of gases varies inversely with atomic weightAtomic weightAtomic weight is a dimensionless physical quantity, the ratio of the average mass of atoms of an element to 1/12 of the mass of an atom of carbon-12... - 1810 – Sir John Leslie freezeFreezingFreezing or solidification is a phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. The reverse process is melting....
s waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
to ice artificially - 1813 – Peter EwartPeter EwartPeter Ewart was a British engineer who was influential in developing the technologies of turbines and theories of thermodynamics....
supports the idea of the conservation of energy in his paper On the measure of moving force; the paper strongly influences Dalton and his pupil, James JouleJames Prescott JouleJames Prescott Joule FRS was an English physicist and brewer, born in Salford, Lancashire. Joule studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work . This led to the theory of conservation of energy, which led to the development of the first law of thermodynamics. The... - 1819 – Pierre Louis DulongPierre Louis DulongPierre Louis Dulong was a French physicist and chemist, remembered today largely for the law of Dulong and Petit. He worked on the specific heat capacity and the expansion and refractive indices of gases....
and Alexis Thérèse PetitAlexis Thérèse PetitAlexis Thérèse Petit was a French physicist. Petit is known for his work on the efficiencies of air- and steam-engines, published in 1818...
give the Dulong-Petit law for the specific heat capacity of a crystalCrystalA crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography... - 1820 – John HerapathJohn HerapathJohn Herapath was an English physicist who gave a partial account of the kinetic theory of gases in 1820 though it was neglected by the scientific community at the time....
develops some ideas in the kinetic theory of gases but mistakenly associates temperature with molecularMoleculeA molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
momentumMomentumIn classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
rather than kinetic energyKinetic energyThe kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
; his work receives little attention other than from Joule - 1822 – Joseph FourierJoseph FourierJean Baptiste Joseph Fourier was a French mathematician and physicist best known for initiating the investigation of Fourier series and their applications to problems of heat transfer and vibrations. The Fourier transform and Fourier's Law are also named in his honour...
formally introduces the use of dimensionDimensionIn physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
s for physical quantities in his Théorie Analytique de la Chaleur - 1822 – Marc SéguinMarc SeguinMarc Seguin was a French engineer, inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge and the multi-tubular steam-engine boiler.- Biography :...
writes to John HerschelJohn HerschelSir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...
supporting the conservation of energy and kinetic theory - 1824 – Sadi CarnotNicolas Léonard Sadi CarnotNicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot was a French military engineer who, in his 1824 Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, gave the first successful theoretical account of heat engines, now known as the Carnot cycle, thereby laying the foundations of the second law of thermodynamics...
analyzes the efficiency of steam engineSteam engineA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s using caloric theory; he develops the notion of a reversible process and, in postulating that no such thing exists in nature, lays the foundation for the second law of thermodynamicsSecond law of thermodynamicsThe second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the tendency that over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential equilibrate in an isolated physical system. From the state of thermodynamic equilibrium, the law deduced the principle of the increase of entropy and...
, and initiating the science of thermodynamics - 1827 – Robert BrownRobert Brown (botanist)Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
discovers the Brownian motionBrownian motionBrownian motion or pedesis is the presumably random drifting of particles suspended in a fluid or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements, which is often called a particle theory.The mathematical model of Brownian motion has several real-world applications...
of pollenPollenPollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
and dye particles in water - 1831 – Macedonio MelloniMacedonio MelloniMacedonio Melloni was an Italian physicist, notable for demonstrating that radiant heat has similar physical properties to those of light.-Life:...
demonstrates that black body radiation can be reflectedReflection (physics)Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two differentmedia so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves...
, refractedRefractionRefraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed...
, and polarised in the same way as light - 1834 – Émile Clapeyron popularises Carnot's work through a graphical and analytic formulation. He also combined Boyle's LawBoyle's lawBoyle's law is one of many gas laws and a special case of the ideal gas law. Boyle's law describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system...
, Charles's LawCharles's lawCharles' law is an experimental gas law which describes how gases tend to expand when heated. It was first published by French natural philosopher Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac in 1802, although he credited the discovery to unpublished work from the 1780s by Jacques Charles...
, and Gay-Lussac's LawGay-Lussac's lawThe expression Gay-Lussac's law is used for each of the two relationships named after the French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and which concern the properties of gases, though it is more usually applied to his law of combining volumes, the first listed here...
to produce a Combined Gas LawCombined gas lawThe combined gas law is a gas law which combines Charles's law, Boyle's law, and Gay-Lussac's law. These laws each relate one thermodynamic variable to another mathematically while holding everything else constant. Charles's law states that volume and temperature are directly proportional to each...
. PV/T = k - 1841 – Julius Robert von MayerJulius Robert von MayerJulius Robert von Mayer was a German physician and physicist and one of the founders of thermodynamics...
, an amateurAmateurAn amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
scientist, writes a paper on the conservation of energy, but his lack of academic training leads to its rejection - 1842 – Mayer makes a connection between work, heat, and the humanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
metabolismMetabolismMetabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
based on his observations of bloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
made while a ship's surgeon; he calculates the mechanical equivalent of heatMechanical equivalent of heatIn the history of science, the mechanical equivalent of heat was a concept that had an important part in the development and acceptance of the conservation of energy and the establishment of the science of thermodynamics in the 19th century.... - 1842 – William Robert GroveWilliam Robert GroveSir William Robert Grove PC QC FRS was a judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology.-Early life:...
demonstrates the thermal dissociation of molecules into their constituent atoms, by showing that steam can be disassociated into oxygen and hydrogen, and the process reversedReversible process (thermodynamics)In thermodynamics, a reversible process, or reversible cycle if the process is cyclic, is a process that can be "reversed" by means of infinitesimal changes in some property of the system without loss or dissipation of energy. Due to these infinitesimal changes, the system is in thermodynamic... - 1843 – John James WaterstonJohn James WaterstonJohn James Waterston was a Scottish physicist, a neglected pioneer of the kinetic theory of gases.-Early life:Waterston's father, George, was an Edinburgh sealing wax manufacturer and stationer, a relative of the Sandeman family Robert and his brother, George...
fully expounds the kinetic theory of gases, but is ridiculed and ignored - 1843 – James Joule experimentally finds the mechanical equivalent of heat
- 1845 – Henri Victor RegnaultHenri Victor RegnaultHenri Victor Regnault was a French chemist and physicist best known for his careful measurements of the thermal properties of gases. He was an early thermodynamicist and was mentor to William Thomson in the late 1840s....
added Avogadro's LawAvogadro's lawAvogadro's law is a gas law named after Amedeo Avogadro who, in 1811, hypothesized that two given samples of an ideal gas, at the same temperature, pressure and volume, contain the same number of molecules...
to the Combined Gas LawCombined gas lawThe combined gas law is a gas law which combines Charles's law, Boyle's law, and Gay-Lussac's law. These laws each relate one thermodynamic variable to another mathematically while holding everything else constant. Charles's law states that volume and temperature are directly proportional to each...
to produce the Ideal Gas LawIdeal gas lawThe ideal gas law is the equation of state of a hypothetical ideal gas. It is a good approximation to the behavior of many gases under many conditions, although it has several limitations. It was first stated by Émile Clapeyron in 1834 as a combination of Boyle's law and Charles's law...
. PV = nRT - 1846 – Karl-Hermann KnoblauchKarl-Hermann KnoblauchKarl Hermann Knoblauch was a German physicist. He is most notable for his studies of radiant heat. He was one of the six founding members of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft at Berlin on 14 January 1845....
publishes De calore radiante disquisitiones experimentis quibusdam novis illustratae - 1846 – Grove publishes an account of the general theory of the conservation of energy in On The Correlation of Physical Forces
- 1847 – Hermann von HelmholtzHermann von HelmholtzHermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
publishes a definitive statement of the conservation of energy, the first law of thermodynamicsFirst law of thermodynamicsThe first law of thermodynamics is an expression of the principle of conservation of work.The law states that energy can be transformed, i.e. changed from one form to another, but cannot be created nor destroyed...
1848–1899
- 1848 – William ThomsonWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron KelvinWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...
extends the concept of absolute zero from gases to all substances - 1849 – William John Macquorn RankineWilliam John Macquorn RankineWilliam John Macquorn Rankine was a Scottish civil engineer, physicist and mathematician. He was a founding contributor, with Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson , to the science of thermodynamics....
calculates the correct relationship between saturated vapour pressure and temperatureTemperatureTemperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
using his hypothesis of molecular vortices - 1850 – Rankine uses his vortex theory to establish accurate relationships between the temperature, pressurePressurePressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
, and densityDensityThe mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
of gases, and expressions for the latent heatLatent heatLatent heat is the heat released or absorbed by a chemical substance or a thermodynamic system during a process that occurs without a change in temperature. A typical example is a change of state of matter, meaning a phase transition such as the melting of ice or the boiling of water. The term was...
of evaporationEvaporationEvaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
of a liquidLiquidLiquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
; he accurately predicts the surprising fact that the apparent specific heat of saturated steamSteamSteam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
will be negative. - 1850 – Rudolf ClausiusRudolf ClausiusRudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius , was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founders of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle known as the Carnot cycle, he put the theory of heat on a truer and sounder basis...
gives the first clear joint statement of the firstFirst law of thermodynamicsThe first law of thermodynamics is an expression of the principle of conservation of work.The law states that energy can be transformed, i.e. changed from one form to another, but cannot be created nor destroyed...
and second lawSecond law of thermodynamicsThe second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the tendency that over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential equilibrate in an isolated physical system. From the state of thermodynamic equilibrium, the law deduced the principle of the increase of entropy and...
of thermodynamics, abandoning the caloric theory, but preserving Carnot's principle. - 1851 – Thomson gives an alternative statement of the second law.
- 1852 – Joule and Thomson demonstrate that a rapidly expanding gas cools, later named the Joule–Thomson effectJoule–Thomson effectIn thermodynamics, the Joule–Thomson effect or Joule–Kelvin effect or Kelvin–Joule effect describes the temperature change of a gas or liquid when it is forced through a valve or porous plug while kept insulated so that no heat is exchanged with the environment. This procedure is called a...
or Joule–Kelvin effect - 1854 – Helmholtz puts forward the idea of the heat death of the universeHeat death of the universeThe heat death of the universe is a suggested ultimate fate of the universe, in which the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain motion or life. Heat death does not imply any particular absolute temperature; it only requires that...
- 1854 – Clausius establishes the importance of dQ/T (Clausius's theorem), but does not yet name the quantity.
- 1854 – Rankine introduces his thermodynamic function, later identified as entropyEntropyEntropy is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process, such as in energy conversion devices, engines, or machines. Such devices can only be driven by convertible energy, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency when...
- 1856 – August KrönigAugust KrönigAugust Karl Krönig was a German chemist and physicist who published an account of the kinetic theory of gases in 1856, probably after reading a paper by John James Waterston....
publishes an account of the kinetic theory of gases, probably after reading Waterston's work - 1857 – Clausius gives a modern and compelling account of the kinetic theory of gases in his On the nature of motion called heat
- 1859 – James Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
discovers the distribution law of molecular velocities - 1859 – Gustav KirchhoffGustav KirchhoffGustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects...
shows that energy emission from a black bodyBlack bodyA black body is an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation. Because of this perfect absorptivity at all wavelengths, a black body is also the best possible emitter of thermal radiation, which it radiates incandescently in a characteristic, continuous spectrum...
is a function of only temperature and frequency - 1862 – "DisgregationDisgregationIn the history of thermodynamics, disgregation was defined in 1862 by Rudolf Clausius as the magnitude of the degree in which the molecules of a body are separated from each other...
," a precursor of entropyEntropyEntropy is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process, such as in energy conversion devices, engines, or machines. Such devices can only be driven by convertible energy, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency when...
, was defined in 1862 by Rudolf ClausiusRudolf ClausiusRudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius , was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founders of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle known as the Carnot cycle, he put the theory of heat on a truer and sounder basis...
as the magnitude of the degree of separation of molecules of a body - 1865 – Clausius introduces the modern macroscopicMacroscopicThe macroscopic scale is the length scale on which objects or processes are of a size which is measurable and observable by the naked eye.When applied to phenomena and abstract objects, the macroscopic scale describes existence in the world as we perceive it, often in contrast to experiences or...
concept of entropy - 1865 – Josef Loschmidt applies Maxwell's theory to estimate the number-density of molecules in gases, given observed gas viscosities.
- 1867 – Maxwell asks whether Maxwell's demonMaxwell's demonIn the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics, Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment created by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell to "show that the Second Law of Thermodynamics has only a statistical certainty." It demonstrates Maxwell's point by hypothetically describing how to...
could reverse irreversible processes - 1870 – Clausius proves the scalar virial theorem
- 1872 – Ludwig BoltzmannLudwig BoltzmannLudwig Eduard Boltzmann was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics...
states the Boltzmann equationBoltzmann equationThe Boltzmann equation, also often known as the Boltzmann transport equation, devised by Ludwig Boltzmann, describes the statistical distribution of one particle in rarefied gas...
for the temporal development of distribution functionDistribution functionIn molecular kinetic theory in physics, a particle's distribution function is a function of seven variables, f, which gives the number of particles per unit volume in phase space. It is the number of particles per unit volume having approximately the velocity near the place and time...
s in phase spacePhase spaceIn mathematics and physics, a phase space, introduced by Willard Gibbs in 1901, is a space in which all possible states of a system are represented, with each possible state of the system corresponding to one unique point in the phase space...
, and publishes his H-theoremH-theoremIn Classical Statistical Mechanics, the H-theorem, introduced by Ludwig Boltzmann in 1872, describes the increase in the entropy of an ideal gas in an irreversible process. H-theorem follows from considerations of Boltzmann's equation... - 1874 – Thomson formally states the second law of thermodynamicsSecond law of thermodynamicsThe second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the tendency that over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential equilibrate in an isolated physical system. From the state of thermodynamic equilibrium, the law deduced the principle of the increase of entropy and...
. - 1876 – Josiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard Gibbs was an American theoretical physicist, chemist, and mathematician. He devised much of the theoretical foundation for chemical thermodynamics as well as physical chemistry. As a mathematician, he invented vector analysis . Yale University awarded Gibbs the first American Ph.D...
publishes the first of two papers (the second appears in 1878) which discuss phase equilibria, statistical ensembles, the free energyThermodynamic free energyThe thermodynamic free energy is the amount of work that a thermodynamic system can perform. The concept is useful in the thermodynamics of chemical or thermal processes in engineering and science. The free energy is the internal energy of a system less the amount of energy that cannot be used to...
as the driving force behind chemical reactionChemical reactionA chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
s, and chemical thermodynamicsChemical thermodynamicsChemical thermodynamics is the study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with physical changes of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics...
in general. - 1876 – Loschmidt criticises Boltzmann's H theorem as being incompatible with microscopic reversibility (Loschmidt's paradoxLoschmidt's paradoxLoschmidt's paradox, also known as the reversibility paradox, is the objection that it should not be possible to deduce an irreversible process from time-symmetric dynamics...
). - 1877 – Boltzmann states the relationship between entropy and probabilityProbabilityProbability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
. - 1879 – Jožef StefanJoseph StefanJoseph Stefan was a physicist, mathematician, and poet of Slovene mother tongue and Austrian citizenship.- Life and work :...
observes that the total radiant flux from a blackbody is proportional to the fourth power of its temperature and states the Stefan–Boltzmann law. - 1884 – Boltzmann derives the Stefan–Boltzmann blackbody radiant flux law from thermodynamic considerations.
- 1888 – Henri-Louis Le Chatelier states his principleLe Châtelier's principleIn chemistry, Le Chatelier's principle, also called the Chatelier's principle, can be used to predict the effect of a change in conditions on a chemical equilibrium. The principle is named after Henry Louis Le Chatelier and sometimes Karl Ferdinand Braun who discovered it independently...
that the response of a chemical system perturbed from equilibrium will be to counteract the perturbation. - 1889 – Walther NernstWalther NernstWalther Hermann Nernst FRS was a German physical chemist and physicist who is known for his theories behind the calculation of chemical affinity as embodied in the third law of thermodynamics, for which he won the 1920 Nobel Prize in chemistry...
relates the voltage of electrochemical cells to their chemical thermodynamics via the Nernst equationNernst equationIn electrochemistry, the Nernst equation is an equation that can be used to determine the equilibrium reduction potential of a half-cell in an electrochemical cell. It can also be used to determine the total voltage for a full electrochemical cell...
. - 1889 – Svante ArrheniusSvante ArrheniusSvante August Arrhenius was a Swedish scientist, originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, and one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry...
introduces the idea of activation energyActivation energyIn chemistry, activation energy is a term introduced in 1889 by the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius that is defined as the energy that must be overcome in order for a chemical reaction to occur. Activation energy may also be defined as the minimum energy required to start a chemical reaction...
for chemical reactions, giving the Arrhenius equationArrhenius equationThe Arrhenius equation is a simple, but remarkably accurate, formula for the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant, and therefore, rate of a chemical reaction. The equation was first proposed by the Dutch chemist J. H. van 't Hoff in 1884; five years later in 1889, the Swedish...
. - 1893 – Wilhelm WienWilhelm WienWilhelm Carl Werner Otto Fritz Franz Wien was a German physicist who, in 1893, used theories about heat and electromagnetism to deduce Wien's displacement law, which calculates the emission of a blackbody at any temperature from the emission at any one reference temperature.He also formulated an...
discovers the displacement law for a blackbody's maximum specific intensity.
1900–1944
- 1900 – Max PlanckMax PlanckMax Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...
suggests that light may be emitted in discrete frequencies, giving his law of black-body radiationPlanck's law of black body radiationIn physics, Planck's law describes the amount of energy emitted by a black body in radiation of a certain wavelength . The law is named after Max Planck, who originally proposed it in 1900. The law was the first to accurately describe black body radiation, and resolved the ultraviolet catastrophe... - 1905 – Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
argues that the reality of quantaQuantumIn physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete...
would explain the photoelectric effectPhotoelectric effectIn the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner may be referred to as photoelectrons... - 1905 – Einstein mathematically analyzes Brownian motionBrownian motionBrownian motion or pedesis is the presumably random drifting of particles suspended in a fluid or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements, which is often called a particle theory.The mathematical model of Brownian motion has several real-world applications...
as a result of random molecular motion - 1906 – Nernst presents a formulation of the third law of thermodynamicsThird law of thermodynamicsThe third law of thermodynamics is a statistical law of nature regarding entropy:For other materials, the residual entropy is not necessarily zero, although it is always zero for a perfect crystal in which there is only one possible ground state.-History:...
- 1907 – Einstein uses quantum theory to estimate the heat capacityHeat capacityHeat capacity , or thermal capacity, is the measurable physical quantity that characterizes the amount of heat required to change a substance's temperature by a given amount...
of an Einstein solidEinstein solidThe Einstein solid is a model of a solid based on two assumptions:* Each atom in the lattice is an independent 3D quantum harmonic oscillator* All atoms oscillate with the same frequency... - 1909 – Constantin CarathéodoryConstantin CarathéodoryConstantin Carathéodory was a Greek mathematician. He made significant contributions to the theory of functions of a real variable, the calculus of variations, and measure theory...
develops an axiomatic systemAxiomatic systemIn mathematics, an axiomatic system is any set of axioms from which some or all axioms can be used in conjunction to logically derive theorems. A mathematical theory consists of an axiomatic system and all its derived theorems...
of thermodynamics - 1910 – Einstein and Marian SmoluchowskiMarian SmoluchowskiMarian Smoluchowski was an ethnic Polish scientist in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was a pioneer of statistical physics and an avid mountaineer.-Life:...
find the Einstein–Smoluchowski formula for the attenuation coefficient due to density fluctuations in a gas - 1911 – Paul EhrenfestPaul EhrenfestPaul Ehrenfest was an Austrian and Dutch physicist, who made major contributions to the field of statistical mechanics and its relations with quantum mechanics, including the theory of phase transition and the Ehrenfest theorem.- Biography :Paul Ehrenfest was born and grew up in Vienna in a Jewish...
and Tatjana Ehrenfest–Afanassjewa publish their classical review on the statistical mechanics of Boltzmann, Begriffliche Grundlagen der statistischen Auffassung in der Mechanik - 1912 – Peter DebyePeter DebyePeter Joseph William Debye FRS was a Dutch physicist and physical chemist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry.-Early life:...
gives an improved heat capacity estimateDebye modelIn thermodynamics and solid state physics, the Debye model is a method developed by Peter Debye in 1912 for estimating the phonon contribution to the specific heat in a solid. It treats the vibrations of the atomic lattice as phonons in a box, in contrast to the Einstein model, which treats the...
by allowing low-frequency phonons - 1916 – Sydney ChapmanSydney Chapman (astronomer)Sydney Chapman FRS was a British mathematician and geophysicist. His work on the kinetic theory of gases, solar-terrestrial physics, and the Earth's ozone layer has inspired a broad range of research over many decades....
and David EnskogDavid EnskogDavid Enskog was a Swedish mathematical physicist. Enskog helped develop the kinetic theory of gases by extending the Maxwell–Boltzmann equations.- Biography :...
systematically develop the kinetic theory of gases. - 1916 – Einstein considers the thermodynamics of atomic spectral lineAtomic spectral lineIn physics, atomic spectral lines are of two types:* An emission line is formed when an electron makes a transition from a particular discrete energy level of an atom, to a lower energy state, emitting a photon of a particular energy and wavelength...
s and predicts stimulated emissionStimulated emissionIn optics, stimulated emission is the process by which an atomic electron interacting with an electromagnetic wave of a certain frequency may drop to a lower energy level, transferring its energy to that field. A photon created in this manner has the same phase, frequency, polarization, and... - 1919 – James Jeans discovers that the dynamical constants of motion determine the distribution function for a system of particles
- 1920 – Megh Nad Saha states his ionization equationSaha ionization equationThe Saha ionization equation, also known as the Saha–Langmuir equation, was developed by the Indian astrophysicist Meghnad Saha in 1920, and later by Irving Langmuir. One of the important applications of the equation was in explaining the spectral classification of stars...
- 1923 – Debye and Erich HuckelErich HückelErich Armand Arthur Joseph Hückel was a German physicist and physical chemist. He is known for two major contributions:*The Debye–Hückel theory of electrolytic solutions...
publish a statistical treatment of the dissociation of electrolyteElectrolyteIn chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....
s - 1924 – Satyendra Nath BoseSatyendra Nath BoseSatyendra Nath Bose FRS was an Indian mathematician and physicist noted for his collaboration with Albert Einstein in developing a theory regarding the gaslike qualities of electromagnetic radiation. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation...
introduces Bose–Einstein statisticsBose–Einstein statisticsIn statistical mechanics, Bose–Einstein statistics determines the statistical distribution of identical indistinguishable bosons over the energy states in thermal equilibrium.-Concept:...
, in a paper translated by Einstein - 1926 – Enrico FermiEnrico FermiEnrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
and Paul DiracPaul DiracPaul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics...
introduce Fermi–Dirac statistics for fermions - 1927 – John von NeumannJohn von NeumannJohn von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
introduces the density matrixDensity matrixIn quantum mechanics, a density matrix is a self-adjoint positive-semidefinite matrix of trace one, that describes the statistical state of a quantum system...
representation and establishes quantum statistical mechanicsQuantum statistical mechanicsQuantum statistical mechanics is the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems. A statistical ensemble is described by a density operator S, which is a non-negative, self-adjoint, trace-class operator of trace 1 on the Hilbert space H describing the quantum system. This can be... - 1928 – John B. JohnsonJohn B. JohnsonJohn Bertrand "Bert" Johnson was a Swedish-born American electrical engineer and physicist...
discovers Johnson noise in a resistor - 1928 – Harry NyquistHarry NyquistHarry Nyquist was an important contributor to information theory.-Personal life:...
derives the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, a relationship to explain Johnson noise in a resistor - 1929 – Lars OnsagerLars OnsagerLars Onsager was a Norwegian-born American physical chemist and theoretical physicist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.He held the Gibbs Professorship of Theoretical Chemistry at Yale University....
derives the Onsager reciprocal relationsOnsager reciprocal relationsIn thermodynamics, the Onsager reciprocal relations express the equality of certain ratios between flows and forces in thermodynamic systems out of equilibrium, but where a notion of local equilibrium exists.... - 1938 – Anatoly VlasovAnatoly VlasovAnatoly Alexandrovich Vlasov was a Russian theoretical physicist prominent in the fields of statistical mechanics, kinetics, and especially in plasma physics.-Biography:...
proposes the Vlasov equationVlasov equationThe Vlasov equation is a differential equation describing time evolution of the distribution function of plasma consisting of charged particles with long-range interaction...
for a correct dynamical description of ensembles of particles with collective long range interaction. - 1939 – Nikolay KrylovNikolay Mitrofanovich KrylovNikolay Mitrofanovich Krylov was a Russian and Soviet mathematician known for works on interpolation, non-linear mechanics, and numerical methods for solving equations of mathematical physics.-Biography:...
and Nikolay BogolyubovNikolay BogolyubovNikolay Nikolaevich Bogolyubov was a Russian and Ukrainian Soviet mathematician and theoretical physicist known for a significant contribution to quantum field theory, classical and quantum statistical mechanics, and to the theory of dynamical systems; a recipient of the Dirac Prize...
give the first consistent microscopic derivation of the Fokker-Planck equationFokker-Planck equationThe Fokker–Planck equation describes the time evolution of the probability density function of the velocity of a particle, and can be generalized to other observables as well.It is named after Adriaan Fokkerand Max Planck...
in the single scheme of classical and quantum mechanics. - 1942 – Joseph Leo DoobJoseph Leo DoobJoseph Leo Doob was an American mathematician, specializing in analysis and probability theory.The theory of martingales was developed by Doob.-Early life and education:...
states his theorem on Gauss–Markov processGauss–Markov processGauss–Markov stochastic processes are stochastic processes that satisfy the requirements for both Gaussian processes and Markov processes. The stationary Gauss–Markov process is a very special case because it is unique, except for some trivial exceptions...
es - 1944 – Lars OnsagerLars OnsagerLars Onsager was a Norwegian-born American physical chemist and theoretical physicist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.He held the Gibbs Professorship of Theoretical Chemistry at Yale University....
gives an analytic solution to the 2-dimensional Ising modelIsing modelThe Ising model is a mathematical model of ferromagnetism in statistical mechanics. The model consists of discrete variables called spins that can be in one of two states . The spins are arranged in a graph , and each spin interacts with its nearest neighbors...
, including its phase transitionPhase transitionA phase transition is the transformation of a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another.A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties....
1945–present
- 1945–1946 – Nikolay Bogoliubov develops a general method for a microscopic derivation of kinetic equations for classical statistical systems using BBGKY hierarchyBBGKY hierarchyIn statistical physics, the BBGKY hierarchy is a set of equations describing the dynamics of a system of a large number of interacting particles...
. - 1947 – Nikolay Bogoliubov and Kirill GurovKirill GurovKirill Gurov was a Soviet Russian theoretical physicist working in the field of physical kinetics.-Biography:Kirill Gurov was born in Moscow, Russia, in the family of a military officer...
extend this method for a microscopic derivation of kinetic equations for quantum statistical systems. - 1948 – Claude Elwood ShannonClaude Elwood ShannonClaude Elwood Shannon was an American mathematician, electronic engineer, and cryptographer known as "the father of information theory"....
establishes information theoryInformation theoryInformation theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
. - 1957 – Aleksandr Solomonovich Kompaneets derives his Compton scattering Fokker–Planck equation.
- 1957 – Ryogo KuboRyogo Kubowas a Japanese mathematical physicist, best known for his works in statistical physics and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.In the early 1950s, Kubo transformed research into the linear response properties of near-equilibrium condensed-matter systems, in particular the understanding of...
derives the first of the Green-Kubo relationsGreen-Kubo relationsThe Green–Kubo relations give the exact mathematical expression for transport coefficients in terms of integrals of time correlation functions.-Thermal and mechanical transport processes:...
for linear transport coefficients. - 1957 – Edwin T. Jaynes gives MaxEnt interpretationMaximum entropy thermodynamicsIn physics, maximum entropy thermodynamics views equilibrium thermodynamics and statistical mechanics as inference processes. More specifically, MaxEnt applies inference techniques rooted in Shannon information theory, Bayesian probability, and the principle of maximum entropy...
of thermodynamics from information theory. - 1960–1965 – Dmitry ZubarevDmitry ZubarevDmitry Nikolaevich Zubarev was a Russian theoretical physicist known for his contributions to statistical mechanics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, plasma physics, theory of turbulence, and to the development of the double-time Green function's formalism....
develops the method of non-equilibrium statistical operator, which becomes a classical tool in the statistical theory of non-equilibrium processes. - 1972 – Jacob BekensteinJacob BekensteinJacob David Bekenstein is an Israeli theoretical physicist who has contributed to the foundation of black hole thermodynamics and to other aspects of the connections between information and gravitation.-Biography:...
suggests that black holes have an entropy proportional to their surface area. - 1974 – Stephen HawkingStephen HawkingStephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
predicts that black holes will radiateHawking radiationHawking radiation is a thermal radiation with a black body spectrum predicted to be emitted by black holes due to quantum effects. It is named after the physicist Stephen Hawking, who provided a theoretical argument for its existence in 1974, and sometimes also after the physicist Jacob Bekenstein...
particles with a black-body spectrum which can cause black hole evaporation
See also
- History of physicsHistory of physicsAs forms of science historically developed out of philosophy, physics was originally referred to as natural philosophy, a term describing a field of study concerned with "the workings of nature".-Early history:...
- History of thermodynamicsHistory of thermodynamicsThe history of thermodynamics is a fundamental strand in the history of physics, the history of chemistry, and the history of science in general...
- Timeline of information theoryTimeline of information theoryA timeline of events related to information theory, quantum information theory, data compression, error correcting codes and related subjects....
- List of notable textbooks in statistical mechanics
- PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- ThermodynamicsThermodynamicsThermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...