A Student's Guide to the Laws of Thermodynamics

Using a welcoming and conversational style, this Student's Guide takes readers on a tour of the laws of thermodynamics, highlighting their importance for a wide range of disciplines. It will be a valuable resource for self-guided learners, students, and instructors working in physics, engineering, chemistry, meteorology, climatology, cosmology, biology, and other scientific fields. The book discusses thermodynamic properties such as temperature, internal energy, and entropy, and develops the laws through primarily observational means without extensive reference to atomic principles. This classical approach allows students to get a handle on thermodynamics as an experimental science and prepares them for more advanced study of statistical mechanics, which is introduced in the final chapter. Detailed practical examples are used to illustrate the theoretical concepts, with a selection of problems included at the end of each chapter to facilitate learning. Solutions to these problems can be found online along with additional supplemental materials.

List of contents

Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Heat, temperature and the Zeroth law; 2. The first law; 3. The second law; 4. The equations of thermodynamics and examples; 5. Thermal physics and the third law; Further reading; Index.

About the author

Justin W. Garvin is a Professor of Instruction in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Iowa. He has previously worked as a research engineer for Iowa's IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering research lab and for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. He specializes in fluid dynamics and thermal physics.

Product details

• Authors: Justin W. Garvin
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 31.03.2026
• EAN: 9781009664592
• ISBN: 978-1-009-66459-2
• Illustrations: Worked examples or Exercises
• Series: Student's Guides
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Physics, astronomy > General, dictionaries; SCIENCE / Physics / General, Classical mechanics, Meteorology & climatology, Meteorology and climatology, Thermodynamics & heat, Fluid mechanics, Statistical physics, Physics: Fluid mechanics, Thermodynamics and heat, For undergraduate education and equivalents, Textbook, coursework, Heat transfer processes