Four Laws that Drive the Universe

By Peter Atkins.Oxford UniversityPress, Oxford 2007.130 pp., hardcover$ 19.95.—ISBN978-0-19-923236-9

Much to my surprise, I quite enjoyedthis little book. Having struggled myselfwith the fundamentals of thermodynam-ics—both as teacher and student—I canappreciate the conceptual difficulties,and Peter Atkins has done a good jobhere in helping to de-mystify the subjectand make it seem like (almost) commonsense. This is as one might expect from aprolific author whose more formal text-books now dominate the teaching ofundergraduate physical chemistry. Theapproach is almost entirely classical.Separate chapters are dedicated toeach of the four laws of thermodynamicsin sequence, showing how each in turncan lead logically to the necessaryexistence of quantities such as temper-ature (from the Zeroth Law), energy(1st Law), and entropy (2nd Law), withthe 3rd Law drawing a line under what isachievable in terms of temperature andentropy. Free energies (Gibbs, Helm-holtz) are introduced in a separatechapter, despite being described(merely?) as “… just convenientaccounting quantities, not new funda-mental concepts” (p. 103). Not everyonewould agree with this, but it does makesome sort of sense in the classicalapproach presented here, and the rela-

tionship between free energy and workis handled nicely. And I guess that it is areflection of the power and beauty ofthermodynamics that, starting fromalternative/different postulates, one canarrive at the same overall conclusions.

Naturally, there are some parts ofthe book that I felt I might disagreewith—that6s part of the fun, especiallyfor the (supposedly expert) reviewer.The treatment is almost entirely non-mathematical, and none the worse forthat, given the likely intended audi-ence—though the introduction of anexponential function as early as page13 might discourage nonspecialist read-ers, and is perhaps unnecessary. Some ofthe arguments can seem a little pedanticand disruptive of the flow. For example,the digression on the word “heat” mightbe a little disconcerting to the new-comer, by stating that: “… heat is not anentity or even a form of energy: heat is amode of transfer of energy. It is not aform of energy …” (p.30), then revertingto a more commonplace usage of theterm for the rest of the book. Elsewhere(p. 45) it was nice to be reminded ofEmmy Noether6s theorem regarding therelationship between conserved quanti-ties and symmetry (and also nice todiscover that she was a woman), butdoes that really mean “… the shape ofthe universe we inhabit. In the particularcase of the conservation of energy, thesymmetry is that of the shape of time”. Iam not sure I would have followed thatif I hadn6t already encountered it else-where. My own understanding is that itis the invariance (i.e., symmetry) of thelaws of physics with respect to time thatmakes energy conservation obligatory.(In the same way that spatial transla-tional or rotational invariance leads toconservation of linear or angularmomentum, and so forth). In otherwords, it is the shape of the laws, notthe shape of the universe, that is signifi-cant here. Equally disconcerting mightbe the tantalizing references to thermo-dynamic fluctuations and the fluctua-tion-dissipation theorem (p. 42), whichhint at the potentially (to some scien-tists) more satisfying molecular statisti-cal approach. Molecular interpretationsdon6t get much of a show here. Forexample, just why is it that water hassuch a high heat capacity (p. 44)? Andjust where did that connection between

entropy and disorder creep in (p. 66)?OK—most of us professionals and (wehope) our students know why, but doothers?

And this leads on to the underlyingquestion regarding the intended targetaudience for this book. Professor Atkinsreminds us of C. P. Snow6s famous 1950sdictum (in The Two Cultures) thatignorance of the second law of thermo-dynamics is akin to never having read awork of Shakespeare—a reflection ofthe arts-versus-science divide that stillpersists to some extent more than 50years later. But I can feel some sympa-thy for the nonscientists here. Thermo-dynamics has been a victim of its ownhistory: a remarkably successful productof 19th century science, logically consis-tent and complete without the need toinvoke concepts of atoms or molecules.But, as conventionally taught, and asmostly described in this book, it is basedon abstract notions derived from theworkings of steam engines and relateddevices that are increasingly unfamiliarto present generations. Since we cannot“unlearn” atoms and molecules, a muchmore overtly molecular approach tothermodynamics might be more helpfulnowadays for nonspecialists. Despitethese caveats, this is a nice book—anentertaining and illuminating read forthose who have struggled with classicalthermodynamics, and a reasonable chal-lenge for others who want to get somegrasp of this most difficult topic.

Alan CooperWestChem Department of ChemistryUniversity of Glasgow (Scotland, UK)

DOI: 10.1002/anie.200785577

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