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Schedule

• Lecture 10
• Recitation 11

Lecture Handouts

• Lecture Notes - Chapter 12: Energy (PDF)

Assignment

• Problem Set 10 (PDF)
• Problem Set 10 Solutions (PDF)

Resources

Technical

Seminal papers on the Principle of Maximum Entropy by Edwin T. Jaynes (July 5, 1922 - April 30, 1998):

• Jaynes, E. T. "Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics." Physical Review 106, no. 4 (May 15, 1957): 620-630. (PDF - 2.2 MB)
  This paper started the use of the Principle of Maximum Entropy in physics.
• ———. "Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics. II." Physical Review 108, no. 2 (October 15, 1957): 171-190. (PDF - 3.9 MB)
  Continuation of the previous reference.
• The philosophy of assuming maximum uncertainty is discussed in Chapter 3 of Tribus, M. Thermostatics and Thermodynamics. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Co, Inc., 1961. ISBN: B000ARSH5S.
• Another good explanation, in terms of estimating probabilities of an unfair die is in Jaynes, E. T. "Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics." In Statistical Physics. Brandeis Summer Institute 1962; New York, NY: W. A. Benjamin, Inc., 1963, pp. 181-218. (PDF)
• Personal history by Jaynes, Edwin T. Jaynes. "Where Do We Stand on Maximum Entropy?" In The Maximum Entropy Formalism. Edited by Raphael D. Levine and Myron Tribus. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1978, pp. 15-118. ISBN: 0262120801. (PDF)

Historical

• Joseph-Louis Lagrange biography
• Biography of Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist, 1844-1906, who was a pioneer in thermodynamics and entropy, is Cercignani, Carlo. Ludwig Boltzmann, The Man Who Trusted Atoms. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN: 0198501544.
• On Boltzmann's tombstone is the formula for entropy "S = k log W"
• Ludwig Boltzmann biography
• Another Ludwig Boltzmann biography
• History of the twisted and convoluted development of the difficult concept of entropy, Truesdell, C. The Tragicomical History of Thermodynamics, 1822 - 1854." New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 1980. ISBN: 0387904034. Professor Truesdell died January 14, 2000 at the age of 80. He retired from the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1989.
• Edwin T. Jaynes biography, photograph, bibliography

Books

There are many textbooks on thermodynamics and energy conversion.

• Silbey, R., and R. Alberty. Physical Chemistry. New York, NY: Wiley, 2001. ISBN: 0471207438. These authors are from MIT. Alberty was formerly Dean of Science, and Silbey is now Dean of Science. It's amazing that anyone can be a Dean and still keep up with science.
• Typical excellent book in a traditional style, Zemansky, Mark W. Heat and Thermodynamics. 3rd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1951, ISBN: 0071223045, or earlier editions starting in 1937. This book does not mention information, and starts with assumed knowledge about temperature, pressure, and volume. Suitable for advanced undergraduates.
• Introductory book, used for sophomores, covering classical thermodynamics (no information), Van Ness, H. C. Understanding Thermodynamics. New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1969. ISBN: 0486632776. Succinct and carefully crafted treatment.
• Book covering both equilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics, Callen, Herbert B. Thermodynamics. New York NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1963. ASIN: B0007HZSRQ.
• Careful treatment of classical thermodynamics (no mention of information) with emphasis on the mathematical formalism, Truesdell, C. Rational Thermodynamics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1969. ASIN: B0006DXDPU. Suitable for graduate courses, for those with some prior exposure to thermodynamics.
• Textbook developed at MIT in energy conversion (no thermodynamics), White, David C., and Herbert H. Woodson. Electromechanical Energy Conversion. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1959. ISBN: 0262230291
• An early textbook to use the Principle of Maximum Entropy as an approach to thermodynamics is Tribus, M. Thermostatics and Thermodynamics. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Co, Inc., 1961. ISBN: B000ARSH5S.