ENTROPY, DEMON
AND THE DIRECTION OF TIME
Introduction to the Thermal
Philosophy
The aim of
the course is to make the students familiar with
the philosophical foundations of thermodynamics and
statistical physics. We place special emphasis on the
question of entropy and its relation to the problem of the
direction of time.
Prerequisites for the course: The course is self-contained; it has no specific prerequisites.
Course schedule:
- A brief history of thermodynamics
- Thermodynamics in a nutshell
- Irreversibility
- Entropy
- The Second Law of Thermodynamics
- Maxwell's Demon
- The
Direction of Time
Literature:
- Lawrence Sklar: Physics and Chance, Philosophycal Issues in the Foundations of Statistical Mechanics (Cambridge University Press, 1993).
- Jos Uffink: ''Compendium of the Foundations of Classical Statistical Physics,'' in: Jeremy Butterfield and John Earman (eds.): Philosophy of Physics (Elsevier, 2007).
- Jos
Uffink: ''Bluff your way with the Second Law of
Thermodynamics,'' Studies in the History and
Philosophy of Modern Physics, 32, 305-394.
- Jeremy
Butterfield: Philosophy of Thermal Physics, ps.
- Roman
Frigg: A Field Guide to Recent Work on the Foundations
of Statistical Mechanics, in: Rickles, Dean (ed.):
The Ashgate companion to contemporary philosophy of
physics (Ashgate, 2008, 99-196), here.
- David Albert: Time and Chance (Harvard University Press, 2000).
- H.
Dieter Zeh: The Physical Basis of the Direction of
Time (Springer, 2007).