Einsteins Fridge Review: Heated Arguments – The Wall Street Journal

During a physics class I took in college, the professor introduced the unit on thermodynamics with a quote from Albert Einstein, who said that it is the only physical theory of universal content which I am convinced . . . will never be overthrown. I was suitably impressed. Yet within about 10 minutes my enthusiasm flagged. Sure, the field might be eternal, but even Einsteins imprimatur couldnt glamorize the grubby details of heat exchange and energy conservation.

Such is the fate of thermodynamics. Its arguably the most successful scientific theory in history, sweeping and precise and revolutionary all at once. And virtually no one cares.

Einsteins Fridge: How the Difference Between Hot and Cold Explains the Universe, a wide-ranging book by the British documentary filmmaker Paul Sen, sets out to rectify that situation. Mr. Sen knows the challenge that awaits him. In the books very first sentence, he laments that thermodynamics is a dreadful name. It implies a bland focus on heat flow and, to me at least, conjures up images of Victorians in stuffy suits tinkering with steam engines. Its a far cry from the romance of relativity or the enigmatic koans of quantum mechanics. Mr. Sen nevertheless makes a strong case that thermodynamics is every bit as lively as those other fieldsand vastly more useful for understanding what makes the universe tick.

The history of thermodynamics flips the relationship between science and technology on its head. Nowadays, scientists emphasize the primacy of fundamental research. Only after you understand the basic science, they argue, can you hope to apply it outside the lab. Not so with thermodynamics. In case after casesteam engines, refrigerators, computer circuitsengineers and dedicated tinkerers began making impressive progress in the field before they had any real understanding of the underlying science.

This topsy-turvy history might explain, in part, the fields inability to charm the public. We love bold leaps that open up new vistas of thought; sweeping scientific breakthroughs are sexy. Tinkering isnt. And even after scientists jumped into thermodynamics, their understanding came fitfullya handful of men and women advancing piecemeal over a century. Contrast that to the theory of relativity and its lone, dreamy hero in Einstein. Or quantum mechanics, which had the feverish air of a revolution in the 1920s. However important, the history of thermodynamics is messy.

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Einsteins Fridge Review: Heated Arguments - The Wall Street Journal