Statistical Physics ( PHY 831 ) : Part 1 - The foundations

Thermodynamics originated with the study of heat engines. A precursor to heat engines, the vacuum pump, was designed by the German scientist Otto von Guericke who, in 1650, created the world’s first ever vacuum in what are known as the Magdeburg hemispheres. He was driven to make a vacuum in order to disprove Aristotle’s long-held supposition that “Nature abhors a vacuum”. Shortly thereafter, Irish physicist and chemist Robert Boyle learned of Guericke’s designs and in 1656, in coordination with English scientist Robert Hooke, built an air pump. Using this pump, Boyle and Hooke noticed the pressure-volume correlation: PV = constant. At that time, air was assumed to be a system of motionless particles rather than a system of moving molecules. Later, after the invention of the thermometer, the temperature could be quantified, providing Gay-Lussac the opportunity to derive his law (P ∝ T ), which quickly led to the ideal gas law.