Thermodynamics is a part of physics that deals with temperature and heat and their relationship to work and energy. In other words, it explains the transfer of energy from one thing to another and its shape changes. This is very useful and applies to many engineering and scientific works. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Nicholas Leonard Sadi Carnot, a French physicist and engineer, developed the concepts of the steam engine. He concluded that heat is the cause of particle motion and calculated the mechanical equivalent of heat. He indicated that the work produced by a steam engine is proportional to the heat transferred from the boiler to the condenser. A German physicist named Julius Robert Mayer formulated the general law of conservation of energy. This law was also formulated by James Prescott Joule and Hermann Ludwig von Helmholtz. James Prescott Joule determined the mechanical equivalent of heat. Hermann Ludwig von Helmholtz worked on things like thermodynamics, electrodynamics and more. He is also known for inventing the first ophthalmoscope. Another physicist named Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius formulated the second law of thermodynamics. He introduced entropy as an equation of state. He also defined the elements of classical thermodynamics and drew the main implications of the mechanical equivalent of heat. He modified Nicholas Leonard Sadi Carnot's law so that the work produced by heat is not equivalent only to the heat transferred from the hotter to the colder body. Instead he said it is also proportional to the temperature difference between the two. There are four laws of thermodynamics. The first law is also known as the law of conservation of energy. It states that energy can neither be destroyed nor created. However, it can be transferred from one thing to another. It can also change its type from one to another. For example, when you turn on a light, electrical energy is transformed into thermal energy. The energy is not lost but simply transformed into another form of energy. The second law states that the entropy of an isolated system will always increase. This means it will increase and never decrease. They will continue to increase towards thermal equilibrium, which is the maximum entropy a system can have. The third law states that entropy will approach a constant value when the temperature of the system reaches absolute zero. The entropy of a system is close to zero when it is at absolute zero and is the natural logarithm of the ground state product. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The last law, called the Zero law, states that if two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a third, they are in thermal equilibrium with each other. This law aims to ensure that the empirical parameter, the temperature, exists as a property of two systems in thermal equilibrium with each other, they will have the same temperature.