About the book
P. W. Atkins, an Oxford professor, sets out to explain the second law of thermodynamics without the mathematics that usually keeps general readers away. The law describes an asymmetry in nature: hot objects cool on their own and a bouncing ball settles, but neither process runs in reverse. Atkins starts with early observations of the steam engine, moves to the atomic basis of the law, and follows its role in engines, refrigerators, heat pumps and chemical reactions, ending with the ordered structures of living things. Computer graphics carry the argument throughout, and an appendix shows how to program the printouts behind the concepts.
Chris Young, founder and chief executive of ChefSteps, says he often gives it as a gift, calling it a casual, graphics-heavy account of how the world works in terms of energy.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Chris Young (Founder & CEO/ChefSteps)
One of the books that Chris has found himself gifting a lot is an out-of-print book on thermodynamics called The Second Law. "It was written by an Oxfod physical chemistry professor named P. W. Atkins. That book is just a phenomenal, casual, infographic-laden read on how the world works from an energy perspective. I found that so incredibly useful in trying to understand how to do something, how to make something work, whether something's even possible. It's frequently my bullshit detector".
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