The Two Principal Laws of Thermodynamics: A Cultural and Historical Exploration

According to van den Berg (psychology and psychiatry emeritus, Universities of Leyden and Utrecht) the discovery of the two principle laws of thermodynamics is intimately connected with the history of modernity. Using a comprehensive approach that studies changes in human perceptions, van den Berg traces the developments in society, politics, and culture that lead to discoveries being made at the same time without researchers knowing of one anothers' work. He examines the two discoverers of the first main law, Count Rumford and Julius Robert Mayer, and the work of Carnot, Clausius and Kelvin toward the discovery of the second law, noting how their social contexts related to their methods of discovery, and how their insights may have been triggered through simultaneous perceptions of societal factors. He follows with chapters on major cultural shifts such as massive emigration and the invention of photography. The translator's introduction explains van den Berg's contexts and terms. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR