Thermodynamics is not the oldest of sciences. Mechanics can make that
claim.
Thermodynamicsisaproductofsomeofthegreatestscienti?cmindsofthe19thand
20th centuries. But it is suf?ciently established that most authors of
new textbooks in thermodynamics ?nd it necessary to justify their
writing of yet another textbook. I ?nd this an unnecessary exercise
because of the centrality of thermodynamics as a science in physics,
chemistry, biology, and medicine. I do acknowledge, however, that
instruction in thermodynamics often leaves the student in a confused
state. My attempt in this book is to present thermodynamics in as simple
and as uni?ed a form as possible. As teachers we identify the failures
of our own teachers and attempt to correct them. Although I personally
acknowledge with a deep gratitude the appreciation for thermodynamics
that I found as an undergraduate, I also realize that my teachers did
not convey to me the sweeping grandeur of thermodynamics. Speci?cally
the s- plicity and the power that James Clerk Maxwell found in the
methods of Gibbs were not part of my undergraduate experience.
Unfortunately some modern authors also seem to miss this central theme,
choosing instead to introduce the thermodynamic potentials as only
useful functions at various points in the development.
