Four Laws that Drive the Universe

Science News,  Dec 1, 2007  

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FOUR LAWS THAT DRIVE THE UNIVERSE PETER ATKINS

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Although it deals with seemingly familiar concepts such as temperature, thermodynamics ranks among the most conceptually treacherous branches of physics. Many students, for example, have puzzled over the definition of entropy, a measure of disorder. Atkins, a chemistry professor at the University of Oxford in England, guides the reader through the basics of thermodynamics in just over 120 pages by keeping a steady focus on the subject's four fundamental laws. The book contains a modicum of formulas. And although it's tersely written and titled like a popular-science book, Four Laws is a textbook both in essence and in structure. Atkins' elegant exposition will appeal to the lay reader with a serious interest in physics. Oxford Univ., 2007, 128 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $19.95.

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