Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
One of the pioneers of statistical mechanics, James Clerk Maxwell, was also a pioneer of the view that thermodynamics should be thought of as a resource theory. For Maxwell, the distinction between energy transfer as heat and energy transfer as work is a distinction relative to an agent’s ability to keep track of, and manipulate a system to direct its energy to do useful work. The second law of thermodynamics, as Maxwell was the first to clearly articulate, becomes a statistical truth. I discuss the implications of this for the project of recovering thermodynamical laws from statistical mechanics.
Annual UWO Philosophy of Physics Conference
Thermodynamics as a Resource Theory: Foundational and Philosophical Implications
June 20-22, 2018
philphysics.uwo.ca
Wayne Myrvold, University of Western Ontario
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. rotman.uwo.ca
Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo
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One of the pioneers of statistical mechanics, James Clerk Maxwell, was also a pioneer of the view that thermodynamics should be thought of as a resource theory. For Maxwell, the distinction between energy transfer as heat and energy transfer as work is a distinction relative to an agent’s ability to keep track of, and manipulate a system to direct its energy to do useful work. The second law of thermodynamics, as Maxwell was the first to clearly articulate, becomes a statistical truth. I discuss the implications of this for the project of recovering thermodynamical laws from statistical mechanics.
Annual UWO Philosophy of Physics Conference
Thermodynamics as a Resource Theory: Foundational and Philosophical Implications
June 20-22, 2018
philphysics.uwo.ca
Wayne Myrvold, University of Western Ontario
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. rotman.uwo.ca
Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo
Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophy
