In the fulfillment of a goal envisioned by Gibbs, the laws of thermodynamics have been written in the form of a Euclidian metric geometry; its formulas can be read off from simple diagrams.
It is perhaps appropriate that, in a year marking the 100th anniversary of his landmark paper in thermodynamics, new developments should call fresh attention to the special beauty and profundity of the work of J. Willard Gibbs. Recent work has proved the possibility of constructing a new representation of equilibrium thermodynamics, one that is couched in a mathematical language—an intrinsically geometrical structure—quite different from that generally employed.
2. H. B. Callen, Thermodynamics, John Wiley, New York (1960), page 48.
3. J. W. Gibbs, Trans. Conn. Acad. Arts Sci. 2, 309, 382 (1873); https://doi.org/TCAAAL The Collected Works of J. Willard Gibbs, Longmans, Green, New York (1928); Dover, New York (1961); volume I, pages 1, 33.
4. P. Dennery, A. Krzywicki, Mathematics for Physicists, Harper and Row, New York (1967), page 109.
With strong magnetic fields and intense lasers or pulsed electric currents, physicists can reconstruct the conditions inside astrophysical objects and create nuclear-fusion reactors.
A crude device for quantification shows how diverse aspects of distantly related organisms reflect the interplay of the same underlying physical factors.