200th Anniversary of Sadi Carnot's Réflexions sur la Puissance Motrice du Feu and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Dive into a comprehensive 2-hour 28-minute lecture celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sadi Carnot's groundbreaking work "Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu" and the introduction of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Explore the historical context, key figures, and lasting impact of Carnot's contributions to thermodynamics. Examine passages from the original text, both in French and English translation, and gain insights into Carnot's unpublished writings. Learn about the connections between Carnot's work and modern scientific concepts, including information theory and the heat death of the universe. Engage with a thought-provoking Q&A session covering topics such as stochastic systems, dark matter, and the relationship between heat engines and AI. Gain a deeper understanding of the foundations of thermodynamics and its far-reaching implications in science and technology.

Start stream
SW starts talking and begins his presentation
2:04- History of Sadi Carnot and Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu Part 1, featuring Lord Kelvin and the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics​​
21:44- SW reads passages from Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu English translation​​
33:50- SW shares the book on-screen original French version​​
37:58- History of Sadi Carnot and Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu Part 2, featuring Lazare Carnot and Napoleon​​
57:50- SW reads more passages from Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu, including biographical excerpts + unpublished writings of Sadi Carnot
1:51:40- History of Sadi Carnot and Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu Part 3, featuring the impacts of Carnot's work on future research into thermodynamics​​
2:04:20-: SW concludes his presentation​​
Q&A begins​​
2:06:33- Ah, so Carnot was the original 'new kind of science' guy of his time.​​
2:07:02- If you think about it, we mostly still life in the steam ages. Most of the energy we get is steam at one point.​​
2:07:29- Why was Carnot's printed with such wasteful borders and only few lines per page?​​
2:08:08- What does it mean to discuss the "heat death of the universe" if entropy law only pertains to a closed system? Is this still plausible according to current physics?​​
2:10:27- ​​Are there ways to measure the efficiency of a stochastic system using principles derived from Carnot's work on heat engines?​​
2:11:49- ​​Heat-Engines were the AI of those times!​​
2:12:37- ​​How did scientists deem 'dark matter' to be a real thing?​​
2:15:31- ​Has anyone ever done further investigation into the paper you wrote with Jan Ambjorn on the thermodynamics of the vacuum?​​
2:24:37- Is there any link between Carnot's findings and modern information theory?​​
2:27:15- SW's closing thoughts​​
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