The sequence of the following links does by no means include a quality judgement. I will continuously complement this page as I step over interesting sites, so keep looking at it once in a while. You will find the latest additions right here at the top.
Last update: Feb. 2, 1999, GVa
My goals are comparatively modest: simply to introduce the first-year chemistry student (without math, but with genuine substance) to how everything in the world works!!......" Ok, Frank, here we go. Thank you for the hint :-)
The site promises to give "A better Theory for Everything than Murphy's Law." What? A theory of everything? Based on a physical concept of the end of the last century? Both scepticism and curiosity is roused. This is certainly not a site for the beginner, since it is always as delicate as interesting to apply physical terms to everyday phenomena. You can test your understanding you have been hard working for, but be aware of the risk of losing it again!
Heat, Work and Energy. Heat. Efficiency. Heat Engines. Entropy. Heat. What is it? How does it relate to temperature? Is it energy? Can we do work with it?. This site provides a concise definition of basic terms.
A lecture discussion about energy generation and "waste" of energy. Examples of heat engine cycles are given (Rankine cycle, Brayton cycle, as well as schematic diagrams)
This page provides written and pictorial information in great detail about the Otto cycle used by some engines. An exact treatment.
Funny! They are reallygoing to describe how a lunar power plant should work. Really science fiction! NASA TM 102090. SP-100 Power System Conceptual Design for Lunar Base Applications. Lee S. Mason and Harvey S. Bloomfield National Aeronautics and SpaceŠ
Studying the effects of entropy and temperature on culture.
Interesting stuff, although I am not quite certain as to what extend it is weird - ok, just a tiny little bit. Anyway, the presentation of some concepts appears questionable to me. For instance, is it really necessary to define two terms and give them the same label, "entropy"? "entropy of classical thermodynamics is objective entropy as contrasted to the entropy of chaos theory (applying the rules of entropy to non-physical systems). The concern is that the classical entropy, although a measure of uncertainty, was also a constituent of physical reality. The entropy of chaos, then, only refers to uncertainty. " But, why not go have a look and judge yourself? It is not an introductory text anyway, you need a sound basis of thermodynamics to be able to judge what you read.
This page gives you definitions of some basic terms. It focuses more on chemistry, but isn't chemistry fine, too? Anyway, for the definitions, it may be worth a visit. By the way, the extension of thermodynamic principles to chemical system was the great success of thermodynamics.
And this is what the site will teach you:
"What thermodynamics can do for you:
But, as usual, don't take everything too serious. The following, for instance, is an oversimplification, that may be justified for the purposes of that website, yet is certainly not justified if discussing entropy:
"For thermodynamic purposes, chemical reactions fall in two categories:
This is the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Energy Technical Site of Research Summaries of Conversion Technology. If you are looking for practical application it is certainly a site to take into consideration.
This page provides graphical and pictorial information about the method of reheat used in some applications of the Rankine energy cycle. This is one of the "tricks" to get more energy out of a given amount of fuel. It is explained with the help of a diagram showing a sample plant layout and with temperature/entropy diagrams. Concise descriptions of figures are included. Suited for specialists only.
CTI-Physics Resource guide
If you are looking for software resources then have a look at this catalog. It is a browsable version of the CTI Physics guide to software resources for teaching physics, where you can find details of computer packages for teaching physics at university level. Caution! Do not step in here unless you have plenty of time to waste!
If you wonder about applications of thermodynamics, this may be a site to start with. Interesting to the specalists: it provides thermodynamic data of compounds that are widespread in rocks.
This site is a pre-course the purpose of which is to prepare a common basis for all participants. It provides a list of introductory textbooks as well as problems that cover material that most of you have heard in mittelschule or in introductory courses to chemistry/geochemistry, physical chemistry, or thermodynamics. The problems will not require more than a hand calculator. A spread sheet program might be handy for some problems, particularly those that require plotting of functional relationships.
