Abstract
WILKIE1 has recently proposed a statement of the Second Law of Thermodynamics which he implies is both new and simple: “The only processes that can happen spontaneously are those that can in principle be made to yield work, for example, to lift up a weight.”
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wilkie, D. R., Nature, 242, 606 (1973).
Butler, J. A. V., Chemical Thermodynamics, fourth ed., 32 (Macmillan 1951).
Planck, M., Treatise on Thermodynamics, third ed., trans. from the seventh German edition, 103 (Dover Publication, Inc., 1958).
Denbigh, K. G., The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium, third ed. 21 (Cambridge University Press, 1971).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LEGON, A. Second Law of Thermodynamics. Nature 244, 431–432 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/244431a0
Received:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/244431a0
This article is cited by
-
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Nature (1974)
