ORDER AND CHAOS: Laws of Energy and Entropy

by Stanley W. & Loren G. Hepler Angcist ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1967

The mark of the scientifically illiterate in C. P. Snow's succinct terms was ignorance of the second law of thermodynamics. How this came about and why some scientists still feel uneasy about the law (which states that natural processes tend toward greater states of disorder or entropy), are some of the ideas set forth in this slim non-mathematical volume. Authors Angrist and Hepler are enthusiasts, eager to shed light, and, notwithstanding occasional bits of coyness and a heavy-handed attempt to inject humor, they do a good job. One is impressed with their angled approach; the use of everyday examples like moisture condensing on a glass or snow evaporating to illustrate principles. The authors extend their thermodynamic vision to man, who is seen as a constant temperature-energy converter, making him more comparable to fuel cells than to heat engines, and they attack the much discussed problems of population and fuel and food reserves in clear if somewhat frightening energy-balance terms. The nature of life and the dynamics of society enter the discussion as small pockets of order amid a grander disorder. The book contains many good sketches of the 19th and 20th century contributors to theory and some fine quotes, including one of Kafka's as an example of man's feebleness when faced with the inexorable entropy-increasing march of the universe: ""In the fight between you and the world, back the world.

Pub Date: May 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Basic Books

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION