School of Engineering and Information Technology
Faculty of Science and Technology
Mathematical Formulation of Micro and Macro Thermodynamics
Sponsored by
 |
 |
|
| Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute | and | Deakin University |
October 10, 2006
Simplifying the formulation of classical thermodynamics as an easily understood logical system analogous to the mathematical axioms for a number system has long been a goal of specialists in the area. In this workshop we propose for discussion such a formulation based on the well known facts regarding thermodynamics.
Two esteemed presenters will discuss the issues from both the microscopic and the macroscopic perspectives. Professor Denis Evans , Professor of Chemistry at ANU, recently spent a month at The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge divulging his mathematical analysis of the Fluctuation Theorem.
The research involved experiments which tested the Fluctuation Theorem which gives a generalization of thermodynamics to small (nano) systems observed for short times. Reports on the work and its significance appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Physics Today, Scientific American, Nature, der Spiegel, Science News, New Scientist, BBC, Physics News and the Financial Times.
Professor Robert Exell , King Mongkut's University of Technology , Thailand , was born in England in 1933, educated at Kings College School Wimbledon and Magdalen College Oxford, and obtained his D.Phil. at Oxford in low temperature physics. He taught mathematics at Chulalongkorn University , Bangkok , from 1962 to 1972. He then moved to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), where his research was mainly in solar energy. He retired from AIT as an emeritus professor in 1993. Professor Exell will present a macroscopic approach to the problem. The keyword "macroscopic" is important because many presentations of thermodynamics mix statistical (microscopic) concepts with macroscopic concepts. The objective is to use only macroscopic concepts, which are consistent with the known microscopic basis of thermodynamics. Reformulations of a theory have sometimes been important historically in clarifying and expanding areas of mathematics and this strategy is followed in the workshop.
The one-day workshop will be facilitated by Associate Professor Eric Hu, Deakin University .
Who should attend
We aim the workshop at university academics and teachers of thermodynamics in science and engineering, and advanced students. We will specify references and topics, and offer them in advance to participants to prepare for discussion.
Registration is free if you return your registration form to Eric by the 15 th Sept. 2006 . For early career researchers and students of AMSI member universities some domestic travel assistance for attendance at the workshop may be available. Contact Eric via email: eric.hu@deakin.edu.au or phone 03 52272828 for details.
Click here for the registration form
Date: 10 Oct. 2006
Location : AMSI Office, Ground floor, ICT Building , 111 Barry Street Carlton , Victoria . (South end of The University of Melbourne ).
