laws of thermodynamics: Quick Facts

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Engraved portrait of Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius, a bearded man in formal attire with sideburns, facing forward.

What are the laws of thermodynamics?

entropy and the arrow of time

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Topics

second law of thermodynamics first law of thermodynamics fourth law of thermodynamics zeroth law of thermodynamics third law of thermodynamics Maxwell’s demon energy conservation of energy radiation combustion geothermal energy wind power solar energy heat renewable energy steam power free energy

Key People

Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron

William Thomson, Baron Kelvin

Scottish engineer, mathematician, and physicist

Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi at work in the wireless room of his yacht Electra, c. 1920.

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