Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe (Transcript)
    Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe (Transcript)
    Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe (Transcript)
    Ebook456 pages9 hours

    Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe (Transcript)

    By Jeffrey C. Grossman

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe is the companion book to the audio/video series of the same name. It contains a full transcript of the series as well as the complete course guidebook which includes lecture notes, bibliography, and more.

    About this series:

    Discover mathematics as an artistic and creative realm that contains some of the greatest ideas of human history. This course explores infinity, the fourth dimension, probability, chaos, fractals, and other fantastic themes.Is it worth Bill Gates's time to pick up a $100 bill if he sees it on the sidewalk? Amidst the frenzied screaming from the audience on television's Let's Make a Deal, is there sound advice to give the contestant trying to decide whether to swiThe world of mathematics contains some of the greatest ideas of humankind—ideas comparable to the works of Shakespeare, Plato, and Michelangelo. These mathematical ideas can add texture, beauty, and wonder to your life. Most importantly, you don't have to be a mathematician to have access to this world.A Mathematical JourneyThe Joy of Thinking is a course about fun, aesthetics, and mystery—about great mathematical ideas that arise from puzzles, observations of everyday life, and habits of curiosity and effective thinking. It is as much about learning to think abstractly as it is about what we traditionally think of as mathematics.You explore the fourth dimension, coincidences, fractals, the allure of number, and geometry, and bring these weighty notions back down to earth to see how they apply to your own life.Rather than focusing on adding figures or creating equations (in fact, there are fewer numbers than you might expect), this course enables you to uncover and grasp insightful strategies for approaching, enjoying, and understanding the world around you. Wonderful ... the Best Taught by Professors Edward B. Burger of Williams College and Michael Starbird of the University of Texas at Austin, this course is based on their innovative textbook, The Heart of Mathematics: An invitation to effective thinking, which a reviewer for The American Mathematical Monthly called wonderful ... possibly the best 'mathematics for the non-mathematician' book that I have seen. Paradoxical PhenomenaConsider these examples: The game show Let's Make a Deal® entertained viewers with Monty Hall urging contestants to pick a door. The choice involves a question of chance that has been the source of many heated arguments. You explore the mathematics that prepares you for future game-show stardom and explains a paradoxical example of probability.Coincidences are striking because any particular one is extremely improbable. However, what is even more improbable is that no coincidence will occur. You see that finding two people having the same birthday in a room of 45 is extremely likely, by chance alone, even though the probability that any particular two people will have the same birthday is extremely low.One of the most famous illustrations of randomness is the scenario of monkeys randomly typing Hamlet. Another, called Buffon's needle, shows how random behavior can be used to estimate numbers such as pi. Physicists discovered that a similar needle-dropping model accurately predicts certain atomic phenomena.The Fourth DimensionMathematical thinking leads not only to insights about our everyday lives and everyday world but also points us to worlds far beyond our own. Take the fourth dimension. The very phrase conjures up notions of science fiction or the supernatural. Because the fourth dimension lies beyond our daily experience, visualizing, exploring, and understanding it requires us to develop an intuition about a world that we cannot see. Nevertheless, that understanding is within our reach. You learn how to construct a four-dimensional cube and why a four-dimensional surgeon could remove your appendix without making an incision in your skin.FractalsOr take a world that we can see: the two-dimensional realm. It c
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Great Courses
    Release dateMar 7, 2014
    ISBN9781629970554
    Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe (Transcript)

    Related to Thermodynamics

    Related ebooks

    Mathematics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Science Is the New Nuclear Deterrent

      Feb 23, 2024

      1 Nuclear weapons research aids basic physics and astronomy research—and vice versa No matter what you’re investigating—the inside of a nuclear weapon, the interior of a giant planet, the core of a star, or the flow from a supernova—physics is physic

      5 min read

    • Article

      Method Could Find Ingredients for Better Batteries

      Apr 7, 2017

      A mathematical model may help scientists design new kinds of materials for use in high-power batteries. In a study published this week in Applied Physics Letters, researchers describe their new mathematical model for designing materials for storing e

      2 min read

    • Article

      This Type of Learning Pays Off for STEM Students

      May 21, 2017

      College students studying STEM subjects who can learn and understand larger concepts rather than focusing on the examples used to explain them may have more success in early classes. The findings, published in the Journal of Chemical Education, may h

      3 min read

    • Article

      New Method May Help Pave Way For Fusion Power Plants

      Jul 10, 2023

      Researchers have experimentally demonstrated dynamic shell formation for the first time. Fusion, which replicates the same reaction that powers the sun, has long been viewed as an ideal energy source due to its potential to be safe, clean, cheap, and

      2 min read

    • Article

      Behind The Climate Hype: Can Models Be Trusted?

      Sep 18, 2019

      Models underpin what we know about how climate change affects our planet. They aren’t perfect, but can they be trusted?

      5 min read

    • Article

      Climate 101

      Apr 16, 2021

      Climate 101
      7 min read

    • Article

      Climate 101

      Apr 16, 2021

      Climate 101
      7 min read

    • Article

      Super Thin Solar Cell Beats Today’s Best Competition

      Aug 2, 2018

      A prototype semiconductor thin-film has performed even better than today’s best solar cell materials at emitting light, researchers report. Solar cells are devices that absorb photons from sunlight and convert their energy to move electrons—enabling

      3 min read

    • Article

      Energy From Fusion: What Is The Promise? What Hurdles Remain?

      Jan 17, 2023

      It’s a question that has been tantalizing scientists for almost a century: Can humans tap the same force that powers the stars? On Dec. 5, an experiment by scientists in California signaled yes. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laborato

      4 min read

    • Article

      Lasers Recreate ‘Molecule That Made the Universe’

      Jul 5, 2017

      A team of scientists has duplicated the chemical reaction that creates trihydrogen, or H3+, which some call the molecule that made the universe. While H3+ is astronomically abundant, no scientist understood the mechanisms that form it from organic mo

      1 min read

    • Article

      3D-Printed ‘Schwarzites’ Could Build All Kinds of Stuff

      Nov 17, 2017

      Engineers are using 3D printers to turn largely theoretical structures into strong, light and durable materials with complex, repeating patterns. The porous structures called schwarzites are designed with computer algorithms, but Rice University rese

      2 min read

    • Article

      Predicting The future

      Mar 14, 2024

      Predicting The future
      14 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Thermodynamics

    5/5

    2 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Thermodynamics - Jeffrey C. Grossman

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1