History of Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Abstract

Thermodynamics and heat transfer became important for mechanical engineers since the advent of steam engines. Sadi Carnot is considered as the father of thermodynamics. However, seeds of thermodynamics were sown before, particularly during the time of Boyle. There are four important laws in thermodynamics. Thermodynamics finds applications in many fields of mechanical engineering, e.g., automobiles, power plants, and refrigeration and air-conditioning. Heat transfer started much earlier. Newton provided a law of cooling. Heat can be transferred via three modes—conduction, convection, and radiation. Earlier only physicists and mathematicians were working in the area of heat transfer. Nowadays, heat transfer is a very important subject of mechanical engineering.