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How Did We Get Here? The Tangled History of the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Stephen Wolfram

But in 1834, Émile Clapeyron (1799–1864)—a rather distinguished French engineering professor (and steam engine designer)—wrote a paper entitled “ Memoir on the Motive Power of Heat ”. His book is mostly words, with just a few formulas related to the behavior of ideal gases, and some tables of actual parameters for particular materials.

Energy 89
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Remembering the Improbable Life of Ed Fredkin (1934–2023) and His World of Ideas and Stories

Stephen Wolfram

It didn’t help that his knowledge of physics was at best spotty (and, for example, I don’t think he ever really learned calculus). In 1983 a movie called WarGames came out, featuring a reclusive military-oriented computer expert named “Professor Falken”—who had an island.