System Upgrade on Tue, May 28th, 2024 at 2am (EDT)
Existing users will be able to log into the site and access content. However, E-commerce and registration of new users may not be available for up to 12 hours.For online purchase, please visit us again. Contact us at customercare@wspc.com for any enquiries.
This book aims to prove that the so-called “energy crisis” is really an entropy crisis. Since energy is conserved, it is clear that a different concept is necessary to discuss meaningfully the problems posed by energy supplies and environmental protection. This book makes this concept, entropy, accessible to a broad, nonspecialized audience.
Examples taken from daily experiences are used to introduce the concept of entropy in an intuitive manner, before it is defined in a more formal way. It is shown that the entropy increase due to irreversible transformations (or “unrecoverable” energy) simultaneously determines the level of fresh energy supplies of our society and the damage that it causes to the environment. Minimizing the rate of entropy increase with advanced technologies and society organizations, and keeping it in check with appropriate energy sources, is the key to a sustainable development.
Sample Chapter(s)
Introduction (91 KB)
Chapter 1: Dealing with Entropy on a Daily Basis (91 KB)
Contents:
- Dealing with Entropy on a Daily Basis
- A Short History of the Biosphere
- How Much Energy Do We Need?
- Entropy in Thermodynamics and Our Energy Needs
- Climate Change: What We Know and What We Don'
- Fighting Entropy with Technology
- Towards a World Without Fossil Fuels
- A Changing World
Readership: Students, academics, public policy makers or anyone interested in environmental and energy issues.
