Lectures on Thermodynamics e-bog

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. One of the most fundamental concepts employed in the study of physical phenomena 'is the concept of the tempera ture* of a body. We distinguish, through touch, between 'hot' and 'cold' bodies. A block of ice feels 'cold' the air in the evening feels 'cool'; a cup of tea feels 'lukewarm'; We boil it, and it feels hot.' We thus establish a qualitative scale of the degrees of hotness or 'temperatures' of bodies.