HISTORY OF THERMODYNAMICS The history of thermodynamics is a fundamental strand in the history of physics, the history of chemistry, and the history of science in general. Owing to the relevance of thermodynamics in much of science and technology, its history is finely woven with the developments of classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, magnetism, and chemical kinetics, to more distant applied fields such as meteorology, information theory, and biology (physiology), and to technological developments such as the steam engine, internal combustion engine, cryagenics and electricity generation. The development of thermodynamics both drove and was driven by atomic theory. It also, albeit in a subtle manner, motivated new directions in probability and statistics; see, for example, the timeline of thermodynamics. DIMENSIONS AND UNITS Dimensions and units are commonly confused, even though the solution to all engineering problems must include units. Dimensions are physical quantities that can be measured, whereas units are arbitrary names that correlate to particular dimensions to make it relative (e.g., a dimension is length, whereas a meter is a relative unit that describes length). All units for the same dimension are related to each other through a conversion factor (e.g., 2:54 cm is exactly _equal to 1 in). There are seven base dimensions that can be combined to describe all of the other dimensions of interest in engineering and physics, among other disciplines. In fluid mechanics, we generally pick length, mass, time, and temperature as base dimensions. This makes force a function of length, mass, and time (i.¢., force is equal to mass multiplied by length all divided by time squared). Others define force as one of their base dimensions and define mass by dividing force by the gravitational acceleration. This is one of the major differences between the standard English unit system and metric unit system. Those who choose to use metric units make use of the units kilogram, meter, and second to define the Newton. In contrast, those that use the English units use the units pound, foot, and second to define the slug. Systéme International d’Unités (SI) units were the first international standard for units. English units followed later and are currently defined from the standard SI units. To define the seven base units using the SI system, scientists and engineers developed the following standards in order to quantify the dimension. The base unit for length is the meter (m). One meter is defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second (as of 1983). One inch (the English unit counterpart) is defined as exactly 0.0254 m (1 in=2.54 cm). Prior to the current definition, the meter was defined to the length of a pendulum with a half period of 1 s (1668), then one ten-millionth ofthe length of the Earth’s meridian (1791), followed by approximately 1.6 million wavelengths of krypton-86 radiation in a vacuum (1960). The base unit for time is the second (s). One second is defined as the time for 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation of a cesium-133 atom transitioning between two hyperfine ground states (1967). Prior to this definition, an interestingly calculated hypothetical year and time were used to define the second, as the fraction 1/31,556,925.9747 of the tropical year for 1900 January 0 at 12 h ephemeris time. The standard unit for mass is the kilogram (kg). A kilogram is defined by the mass of a platinum-iridium cylinder that is housed at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (Paris, France). This mass of 1g was originally defined as the mass of 1 cm3 of water at 4°C, making a kilogram the mass of 1 L of water. However, the first prototype kilogram mass, which is what is currently in use today, has the mass of 1.000025 L of water. The base unit for temperature is the Kelvin (K). The Kelvin scale is defined from absolute zero (where no heat remains in an atom) and the triple point of water. From these four base units most of the parameters used in fluid mechanics can be derived. The three remaining base units are electric current (ampere (A)), amount of substance (mole (mol), and luminous intensity (candela (cd)). The definition of. ampere is currently under review by the International Committee for Weights and Measures, but will likely include the amount of elementary particles moving past a particular point in 1s (at the time of writing, the definition appears to be approximately equal to 6.241x1018elementary particles). The mole was defined when considerations on molecular mass, atomic mass, and Avogadro’s number were under consideration. The candela is the luminous intensity of a source that emits a monochromatic radiation of frequency 540x1012 Hz and that has a radiant intensity of 1/683 watt/square radian in that same direction. The three last base units/dimensions are not as applicable to biofluid mechanics problems but may arise in problems throughout the textbook. When converting between two different units, it is imperative to make sure that you track the units you are converting and to make sure that the quantities are being converted properly. For instance, if you are converting area, which is a length squared quantity, you must multiply by the conversion factor twice. If there is an addition or subtraction within your equation, you also need to make nae that he wns are the fame roe fine adaition or subtraction operation first need to convert 2 feet to x mat , to ae i ond You would This might seem trivial at this sta Facer Subtraction properly. dimensions and multipl ee oral nee Tce iple quantities, you must make sure that your units are correct before you do the algebra.