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thermodynamics: Quick Facts

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News •

Physicists prove a long-suspected quantum speed limit for thermalization • Oct. 18, 2026, 1:20 PM ET (Phys.org)
Maxwell's demon learns to turn concealed information into usable energy for microscopic systems • Oct. 16, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Phys.org)

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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?
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entropy and the arrow of time
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Key People

Max Planck
Max Planck
German physicist
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell
Scottish mathematician and physicist
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Gilbert N. Lewis
American chemist
J. Willard Gibbs
J. Willard Gibbs
American scientist
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Ilya Prigogine
Russian-Belgian physical chemist
Rudolf Clausius
Rudolf Clausius
German mathematician and physicist
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Lars Onsager
American chemist
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William John Macquorn Rankine
Scottish engineer
Brønsted
Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted
Danish chemist
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Pierre Duhem
French physicist and philosopher
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Joseph Bertrand
French mathematician and educator
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Walter Schottky
German physicist
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Ernst Julius Cohen
Dutch chemist
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H.L. Callendar
British scientist
Espy, James Pollard
James Pollard Espy
American meteorologist