The title essay, along with other papers in this volume, laid the foundation of modern thermodynamics. Highly readable, "Reflections" contains no arguments that depend on calculus, examining the relation between heat and work in terms of heat in steam engines, air-engines, and an internal combustion machine. Translation of 1890 edition.

This is just...entropy, he said, thinking that this explained everything, and he repeated the strange word a few times. 1 ? Karel Capek , “Krakatit” This “strange word” denotes one of the most basic quantities of the physics of heat phenomena, that is, of thermodynamics. Although the concept of entropy did indeed originate in thermodynamics, it later became clear that it was a more universal concept, of fundamental signi?cance for chemistry and biology, as well as physics. Although the concept of energy is usually considered more important and easier to grasp, it turns out, as we shall see, that the idea of entropy is just as substantial—and moreover not all that complicated. We can compute or measure the quantity of energy contained in this sheet of paper, and the same is true of its entropy. Furthermore, entropy has remarkable properties. Our galaxy, the solar system, and the biosphere all take their being from entropy, as a result of its transferenceto the surrounding medium. Thereis a surprisingconnectionbetween entropyandinformation,thatis,thetotalintelligencecommunicatedbyamessage. All of this is expounded in the present book, thereby conveying informationto the readeranddecreasinghis entropy;butitis uptothe readertodecidehowvaluable this information might be.

In 1824, Sadi Carnot postulated a monumental theory, which ranks with the greatest of scientific classics. He became immortal when he published his technical paper ”Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat”, which included his famous “Carnot cycle” theory. His theory is included in almost every thermodynamics, engineering, and physics course in colleges worldwide. It defines the maximum thermal efficiency of all heat engines operating within the same temperature range. Now, "The Most Efficient Engine" cycle, using a different approach, defines the maximum thermal efficiency as does the Carnot cycle. In addition, it relates temperature, efficiency, and power in a meaningful way, giving better insight to heat engine operation. This book includes the Carnot cycle, the Stirling cycle, and the "Most Efficient Engine" cycle, along with some relevant thermodynamics. As an interesting, surprising, and amazing sidelight, the "Most Efficient Engine" cycle equation, for efficiency at maximum power, is validated by and validates the widely quoted Chambadal - Novikov - Curzon - Ahlborn equation , giving the exact same results. e = 1-SQR (TL/TH) The book will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. It promises to be another classic

This book offers an easy to read, all-embracing history of thermodynamics. It describes the long development of thermodynamics, from the misunderstood and misinterpreted to the conceptually simple and extremely useful theory that we know today. Coverage identifies not only the famous physicists who developed the field, but also engineers and scientists from other disciplines who helped in the development and spread of thermodynamics as well.