A theory is the more impressive the greater the simplicity of its
premises is, the more different kinds of things it relates, and the more
extended is its area of applicability. Therefore the deep impression
which classical thermodynamics made upon me. It is the only physical
theory of universal content concerning which I am convinced that,
within the framework of the applicability of its basic concepts, it will
never be overthrown.
Albert Einstein
Thermodynamics is a discipline that involves a formalization of a large
number of intuitive concepts derived from common experience.
J. G. Kirkwood and I. Oppenheim,Chemical Thermodynamics, 1961
The first law of thermodynamics is nothing more than the principle of
the conservation of energy applied to phenomena involving the
production or absorption of heat.
Max Planck,Treatise on Thermodynamics, 1922
The law that entropy always increases—the second law of
thermodynamics—holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws
of Nature. If someone points out to you that your pet theory of the
universe is in disagreement with Maxwell’s equations—then so much
the worse for Maxwell’s equations. If it is found to be contradicted by
observation—well, these experimentalists do bungle things sometimes.
But if your theory is found to be against the second law of
thermodynamics I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to
collapse in deepest humiliation.
Sir Arthur Eddington,The Nature of the Physical World, 1928
Thermodynamics is a collection of useful relations between quantities,
every one of which is independently measurable. What do such
relations “tell one” about one’s system, or in other words what do we
learn from thermodynamics about the microscopic explanations of
macroscopic changes? Nothing whatever. What then is theuseof
thermodynamics? Thermodynamics is useful precisely because some
quantities are easier to measure than others, and that is all.
M. L. McGlashan,J. Chem. Educ., 43 , 226–232 (1966)
“WhenIuse a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone,
“it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice,“whether youcanmake words mean
so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—
that’s all.”
Lewis Carroll,Through the Looking-Glass