A Brief History of Thermodynamics (I): Thermal Machines and the Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Thermodynamics is part of our daily life in many ways and studying its historical evolution surely contributes to its understanding and enrich discussions in the classroom. It is important to understand the historical context in which certain ideas and concepts emerged, the limitations of each era, the epistemological leaps, the relationships and personal conflicts that limited or expanded the exchange of information and the scope of ideas. Usually only one person is presented as responsible for a discover, advocating a theory or discoverer of a phenomenon, a principle or a law of nature but, as we will see, for example on thermal machines and its evolution, it is a work of many hands and several names can be listed with different contributions. Thermodynamics is an example of a remarkable collective construction, even if unintentional, its history is full of twists and conflicts, breaking old traditions and opening a new era.