Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  Department of Mechanical Engineering  6.050J / 2.110J     Information and Entropy     Spring 2006

Unit 11: Energy

Schedule

Lecture Handouts

Students who for any reason did not receive these items can pick up a copy in Room 38-344. Most of this material is also available on the 6.050J/2.110J Web site http://mtlsites.mit.edu/Courses/6.050.

• Unit 11 Resources (this page)
• Problem Set 11
• 6.050J / 2.110J Notes
  • Energy

Reading Assignment

• 6.050J / 2.110J notes, Energy

Resources

Technical

Seminal papers on the Principle of Maximum Entropy by Edwin T. Jaynes (July 5, 1922 - April 30, 1998):

• Jaynes, E. T., "Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics," Physical Review, vol. 106, no. 4, pp. 620-630; May 15, 1957. PDF (2.2 MB), PS (2.6 MB). This paper started the use of the Principle of Maximum Entropy in physics
• Jaynes, E. T., "Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics. II," Physical Review, vol. 108, no. 2, pp. 171-190; October 15, 1957. PDF (2.2 MB), PS (2.6 MB). Continuation of the previous reference

• The philosophy of assuming maximum uncertainty is discussed in Chapter 3 of M. Tribus, "Thermostatics and Thermodynamics," D. Van Nostrand Co, Inc., Princeton, NJ; 1961
• Another good explanation, in terms of estimating probabilities of an unfair die is in E. T. Jaynes, "Information Theory and Statistical Mechanics," pp. 181-218 in "Statistical Physics," Brandeis Summer Institute 1962, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, NY; 1963. PDF, PS
• Personal history by Jaynes, Edwin T. Jaynes, "Where Do We Stand on Maximum Entropy?," pp. 15-118, in "The Maximum Entropy Formalism," Raphael D. Levine and Myron Tribus, editors, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA; 1979. PDF, PS

Historical

• Joseph-Louis Lagrange biography
• Biography of Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist, 1844-1906, who was a pioneer in thermodynamics and entropy, is Carlo Cercignani, "Ludwig Boltzmann, The Man Who Trusted Atoms," Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK; 1998.
• On Boltzmann's tombstone (closeup) is the formula for entropy "S = k log W"
• Ludwig Boltzmann biography
• Another Ludwig Boltzmann biography
• History of the twisted and convoluted development of the difficult concept of entropy, C. Truesdell, "The Tragicomical History of Thermodynamics, 1822 - 1854," Springer-Verlag, Berlin; 1980. Professor Truesdell died January 14, 2000 at the age of 80. He retired from the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1989.
• Edwin T. Jaynes biography, photograph, bibliography

Books

There are many textbooks on thermodynamics and energy conversion.

• R. Silbey and R. Alberty, "Physical Chemistry," Wiley; 2001. These authors are from MIT. Alberty was formerly Dean of Science, and Silbey is now Dean of Science. It's amazing that anyone can be a Dean and still keep up with science.
• Typical excellent book in a traditional style, Mark W. Zemansky, "Heat and Thermodynamics," McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, NY; Third Edition, 1951, or earlier editions starting in 1937. This book does not mention information, and starts with assumed knowledge about temperature, pressure, and volume. Suitable for advanced undergraduates.
• Introductory book, used for sophomores, covering classical thermodynamics (no information), H. C. Van Ness, "Understanding Thermodynamics," Dover Publications, New York, NY; 1969. Succinct and carefully crafted treatment.
• Book covering both equilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics, Herbert B. Callen, "Thermodynamics," John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York NY; 1962.
• Careful treatment of classical thermodynamics (no mention of information) with emphasis on the mathematical formalism, C. Truesdell, "Rational Thermodynamics," McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY; 1969. Suitable for graduate courses, for those with some prior exposure to thermodynamics.
• Textbook developed at MIT in energy conversion (no thermodynamics), David C. White and Herbert H. Woodson, "Electromechanical Energy Conversion," John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY; 1959.
• An early textbook to use the Principle of Maximum Entropy as an approach to thermodynamics is M. Tribus, "Thermostatics and Thermodynamics," D. Van Nostrand Co, Inc., Princeton, NJ; 1961

Help Wanted

6.050J/2.110J students: be the first to suggest a resource, for example a useful Web site or a good book or article, to add to the list above. If your suggestion is accepted by the 6.050J/2.110J staff, you will get a $5 ice-cream gift certificate. Send your suggestion by e-mail during Spring 2006 to 6.050-staff (at) mit.edu.