The journey of the Second Law of Thermodynamics began in the early 19th century with the work of French engineer Sadi Carnot. He was curious about improving the efficiency of steam engines, which were vital during the Industrial Revolution. In 1824, Carnot made a groundbreaking discovery: he found an upper limit to the efficiency of … Read more
The concept of heat as a form of energy that flows from a hotter body to a cooler one was developed over time. In the 18th century, scientists like Joseph Black and James Watt studied heat in the context of steam engines, leading to the formulation of the concept of latent heat and the improvement … Read more
The First Law of Thermodynamics didn’t just appear out of thin air; it was the result of many scientists’ work over several years. It’s like a puzzle that was slowly pieced together by different minds across the world. Before the First Law was formulated, people believed in the caloric theory, which suggested that heat was … Read more
The story of the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics is unique. It’s a fundamental principle that was recognized after the first three laws of thermodynamics were already known. The name “Zeroth” comes from the fact that it needed to be placed before the First Law due to its foundational nature, even though it was discovered later. … Read more
Newton’s Law of Cooling is like a recipe for predicting how fast a hot object will cool down. It’s named after Sir Isaac Newton, who formulated this law in the 17th century. Before Newton, people noticed that hot objects cool down, but they didn’t have a good way to describe them mathematically. They could feel … Read more
The concept of latent heat is like a hidden chapter in the story of temperature and heat. It’s the secret agent of energy changes, working behind the scenes during phase changes. People have always known that substances like water can exist in different states—solid, liquid, and gas. However, the understanding of how and why these … Read more
The story of changes of state is a tale of transformation, where substances dance between being solid, liquid, and gas. This story is as old as time itself, but our understanding of it has evolved over centuries. Ancient Greek philosophers first pondered the idea that matter could change states. They believed in four elements: earth, … Read more
Calorimetry is like the science of measuring the heat version of a story. It tells us how much energy is involved in chemical reactions or physical changes, and it has a story that goes back centuries. The concept of measuring heat goes back to the ancient Greeks, who were curious about heat and temperature. However, … Read more
The story of the transformer begins in the 19th century. The principle of electromagnetic induction, which is the science behind transformers, was discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831. However, it wasn’t until the 1880s that the first practical transformers were developed. In the early 1880s, inventors in Hungary created what we might consider the first … Read more
The story of the transformer begins in the 19th century. The principle of electromagnetic induction, which is the science behind transformers, was discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831. However, it wasn’t until the 1880s that the first practical transformers were developed. In the early 1880s, inventors in Hungary created what we might consider the first … Read more