13. The Field View on Thermodynamics (original) (raw)

When one reads textbooks on the thermodynamics the first time, one feels like reading a scientific paper written in the 18th century. Bulky description of the initial ideas, absence of clear distinction between concepts of heat, temperature and internal energy of the very difference between the system and its exterior - all these features essentially hinder understanding until realization comes that this is just a collection of experimental facts, a block of clay not reduced to the form of plates and dishes necessary for the housewife. Electrodynamics Maxwell’s ideas were much luckier than his thermodynamic ones. Electrodynamics quickly became an accu-rate science and yielded plentiful fruits. Why did this not happen with thermodynamics, even though the gauge of the scientists who devoted their life to thermodynamics is not less? Certainly there are many causes for this, and they are differ-ent. Let us make a supposition concerning cognition side of the problem. In electrodynamics, the electron was detected rather quickly. The concept of current was introduced as charged flow, and this became a powerful incite to the theory development and at-tached clear physical meaning to the concept of field. Until recently the concept of thermodynamic charge was not introduced; instead, the not very transparent idea of a particle was introduced, and instead of an inductively constructed image of a field, they speak about an ensemble of particles that is amalgamated into a “system” that interacts with its “compliment” – the rest of the universe. We are to admit that stochastic description of the ensemble not only did not make more transparent the problem, but even hindered understanding of the problem’s essence. In quantum mechanics, it has led us into blind alley in understanding. Thus the slogan: “I believe because this is absurd” has become the oath of loyalty in modern mainstream physics. The second cause of modern thermodynamics’ problem is apparently reluctance to recognize the fundamental character of Brownian particle movement. See, the fact that Brownian particle movement time is proportional not to the covered path, but its square, immediately differentiates this movement from the concepts of traditional mechanics. Physical analyses of the problem were changed with probabilistic description and purely groundless exchanging of mean for dispersion. But if we can prescribe quite understandable meaning to the word ‘mean’ then what physical meaning can be given to the word ‘dispersion’, which characterizes deviation from the mean? The aim of this article is to formulate field concept in the thermodynamics. Mechanical dimensions for concepts of heat and temperature are introduced, particle’s spin is considered as the charge of the thermodynamic field. The main thermodynamic assertions are paraphrased in these terms.