Lecture 19 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:03:37 GMT

Lecture 19: Chemical equilibrium Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Ostwald Ripening in Ice Cream

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:09:32 GMT

Ever wondered why your ice cream gets harder in the freezer over time, losing its creamy texture? Ostwald Ripening is the culprit, an observed thermodynamic phenomenon described in this video.

Lecture 36 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:27:03 GMT

Lecture 36: Biochemistry Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 35 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:19:53 GMT

Lecture 35: Enzyme catalysis Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 34 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:13:30 GMT

Lecture 34: Temperature and kinetics Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 33 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:09:00 GMT

Lecture 33: Reaction mechanism Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 32 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:59:01 GMT

Lecture 32: Nuclear chemistry and elementary reactions Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 31 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:43:19 GMT

Lecture 31: Rate laws Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 30 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:34:34 GMT

Lecture 30: Magnetism and spectrochemical theory Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 29 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:27:41 GMT

Lecture 29: Metals in biology Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 28 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:15:51 GMT

Lecture 28: Crystal field theory Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 27 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:09:10 GMT

Lecture 27: Transition metals and the treatment of lead poisoning Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 26 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:55:17 GMT

Lecture 26: Chemical and biological oxidation/reduction reactions Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 25 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:42:28 GMT

Lecture 25: Electrochemical cells Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 24 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:34:02 GMT

Lecture 24: Balancing oxidation/reduction equations Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 23 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:27:14 GMT

Lecture 23: Acid-base titrations Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 22 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:22:08 GMT

Lecture 22: Chemical and biological buffers Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 21 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:56:01 GMT

Lecture 21: Acid-base equilibrium: Is MIT water safe to drink? Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 20 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:45:33 GMT

Lecture 20: Le Chatelier's principle and applications to blood-oxygen level Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 18 dupe | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:32:45 GMT

Lecture 18 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:27:33 GMT

Lecture 18: Free energy and control of spontaneity Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 15 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:17:57 GMT

Lecture 15: Valence bond theory and hybridization Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 17 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:12:45 GMT

Lecture 17: Entropy and disorder Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 16 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:17:22 GMT

Lecture 16: Determining hybridization in complex molecules; Thermochemistry and bond energies/bond enthalpies Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 14 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:56:20 GMT

Lecture 14: Molecular orbital theory Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 13 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:50:30 GMT

Lecture 13: Polar covalent bonds; VSEPR theory Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 12 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:44:50 GMT

Lecture 12: Exceptions to Lewis structure rules; Ionic bonds Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 11 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:33:09 GMT

Lecture 11: Lewis structures Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 10 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:23:18 GMT

Lecture 10: Periodic trends continued; Covalent bonds Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 9 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:12:52 GMT

Lecture 9: Periodic trends Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 8 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:05:02 GMT

Lecture 8: Multielectron atoms and electron configurations Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 7 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:52:15 GMT

Lecture 7: p-orbitals Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 6 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:34:02 GMT

Lecture 6: Hydrogen atom wavefunctions (orbitals) Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 5 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:26:46 GMT

Lecture 5: Hydrogen atom energy levels Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 4 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:17:35 GMT

Lecture 4: Wave-particle duality of matter, Schro?dinger equation Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 3 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:06:12 GMT

Lecture 3: Wave-particle duality of light Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 2 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:52:53 GMT

Lecture 2: Discovery of electron and nucleus, need for quantum mechanics Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Lecture 1 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:24:43 GMT

Lecture 1: The importance of chemical principles Instructors: Catherine Drennan, Elizabeth Vogel Taylor View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/5-111f08 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu

Personalized Energy

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

09/15/2009 2:00 PM E19Daniel Nocera, The Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and Professor of Chemistry; ; ; Description: Daniel Nocera is swimming very hard against the current of mainstream energy research. While many scientists are figuring out how to scale up wind, geothermal or biomass systems, Nocera is focusing on "personalized" energy units that can be manufactured, distributed and installed on the cheap. His main concern lies with the increasing energy demands of six billion people, primarily from developing nations, who will be marching onto the world stage by 2050 and likely doubling the planet's energy consumption, from around 13 to 26 terawatts (that's trillion watts). A "solution to the energy challenge rests in providing the non"legacy (developing) world a carbon"neutral, sustainable energy supply," says Nocera. Nocera's science isn't about making big or efficient systems. For non"legacy populations, "cost means everything and efficiency is secondary." Nocera's metrics look at cost in terms of energy stored per weight of something, and so he plots a Boeing 777 plane, etching tools, and Big Macs on the same cost curve. Priced out this way, cars cost around $1 million. Pursuing this logic, Nocera wants to build large quantities of small energy systems and get them into the developing world before giant infrastructure"based energy takes root. Nocera's vision builds on major research breakthroughs: He has figured out how to harness critical biological processes that may bring widespread solar power closer to reality. Nocera's innovations include replicating in the lab the process of photosynthesis in plants, using sunlight to split water molecules and store energy. "Chemically, I'm not doing anything in a sophisticated wayjust taking water, rearranging bonds and making fuel." A liter of water, energized by sunlight from a photovoltaic cell, can store 13 megajoules. The 3.2 million liters in MIT's pool could yield 43 terawatts _ enough energy "to take care of all of you." Nocera's photosynthesis uses a cobalt"phosphate cocktail that mimics the mineral"based catalytic process in a plant, and "keeps fixing itself," running endlessly on such humble fuels as Charles River water. His process even yields pure drinking water from waste. Nocera's goal is to make each home its own power station, with photovoltaic arrays on the roof feeding the catalytic reaction that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Some of these elements are still pricey or unreliable -- in particular, fuel cells and photovoltaics are troublesome -- yet he envisions villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing one of his basic systems for $800. While Nocera acknowledges his critics, he views them as institution"bound naysayers: "I always say when the scientists stop fighting, then you're screwed." About the Speaker(s): Daniel Nocera is at the forefront of research on renewable energy at the molecular level, focusing on mechanisms of energy conversion involving the water molecule. In 2005, Nocera was awarded the Italgas Prize, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Nocera has received the American Institute of Chemists Award, and was appointed a Presidential Young Investigator and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. He serves on the Editorial Boards of Accounts of Chemical Research, Inorganic Chemistry, Journal of the American Chemical Society and Comments in Inorganic Chemistry. He was the inaugural Editor of Inorganic Chemistry Communications. Nocera received his B.S. in 1979 from Rutgers University, and his Ph.D. from CalTech in 1984. He joined MIT in 1997.Host(s): School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Knight Science Journalism Fellowships

Lecture 36 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:18:58 GMT

This course provides an introduction to the chemistry of biological, inorganic, and organic molecules. The emphasis is on basic principles of atomic and molecular electronic structure, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, chemical kinetics, and catalysis.

Lecture 35 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 34 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 33 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 32 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 31 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 30 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 29 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 28 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 27 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 26 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 25 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 24 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 23 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 22 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 21 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 20 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 19 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 18 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 17 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 16 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 15 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 14 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 13 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 12 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:08:01 GMT

his course provides an introduction to the chemistry of biological, inorganic, and organic molecules. The emphasis is on basic principles of atomic and molecular electronic structure, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, chemical kinetics, and catalysis.

Lecture 11 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:06:11 GMT

Lecture 10 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:04:36 GMT

Lecture 9 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 8 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 7 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 6 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 5 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

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Lecture 4 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:48:58 GMT

This course provides an introduction to the chemistry of biological, inorganic, and organic molecules.

The Next Giant Leaps in Energy, Environment, & Air Transportation

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

06/11/2009 1:00 PM KresgeThe Honorable John P. Holdren, '65, SM '66, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President; Dr. Ian A. Waitz, Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor and Department Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT ; Michael B. Bair, SM '93, Vice President, Business Strategy & Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Dr. David Danielson, Ph D '08, Program Manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency; Founder, MIT Energy Club; Dr. Alan H. Epstein, '71, SM '72, Ph D 75, Vice President for Technology and Environment, United Technologies Pratt & Whitney, and R.C. MacLaurin Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; Dr. Lourdes Q. Maurice, Chief Scientific and Technical Advisor for Environment, FAADescription: It's no exaggeration to say John Holdren's job involves tackling the most critical issues of our age: economic recovery and growth, health care, energy, climate change, global pandemics, national security, ecosystem preservationthe list goes on. As President Obama's science and technology advisor, Holdren leverages the resources and collective acumen of the nation's researchers and innovators to address these complex and urgent matters. To an MIT audience, Holdren makes the case that aerospace science, technology and education will provide a "crucial contribution to and driver of many relevant capabilities" the U.S. will need to meet this century's challenges. He cites in particular the relevance of "nitty"gritty things like infrastructure" in aerospace research and industry -- -- including military and civilian satellites enabling earth observation and tracking for national security purposes or weather forecasting. These technologies engender "spin"offs into other domains of the economy, health care and the environment." In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station are inspiring students to pursue science and engineering. Holdren hopes these young researchers will eventually pave the way to clean energy and a revitalized economy. President Obama has put science and technology "front and center," and these priorities are reflected in a budget that provides big boosts for science, and also for transportation infrastructure and applied energy technologies. Government agencies are trying to resolve the "budget"vision disparity" in the space program; air traffic control problems resulting from the steady expansion of civil air traffic; and the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy of aircraft. But Holdren worries about maintaining the administration's ambitious space and aeronautics agenda, in the face of ballooning government programs, and ongoing military commitments. Aviation and space communities must work together across government, industry and academic sectors to overcome these obstacles -- "a giant leap requiring giant partnerships." A group of aerospace leaders respond to Holdren's talk. Michael Bair notes that the aviation industry is growing faster than GDP, but challenged by "an awful business model" and an expanding carbon footprint. He sees hope in fuel efficiency improvements, especially biofuels, and new air traffic policies. David Danielson believes young entrepreneurs, inspired by 9/11, the economic crisis, and the 90's internet boom, will rally to transform our energy economy, with the help of new policies and funding, a firm embrace of "thinking big," and an acceptance that "it's OK to fail." Seeking a less polluting hydrocarbon to power his airplanes, Alan Epstein needs a big infusion of capital from the financial community to help attract biofuel producers to aviation, and looks to places like MIT for "ingenuity and invention" to make biofuels a practical, cost"effective reality. A key lesson learned in kindergarten -- 'tell the truth' -- will serve the aerospace community well, counsels Lourdes Q. Maurice. This means admitting "tradeoffs between noise and emissions," for instance. She also argues for inclusivity among decision"makers around energy and environment issues, and decisions informed by science. About the Speaker(s): John P. Holdren, President Obama's "Science Czar," previously served as Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, as well as professor in Harvard's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of the independent, nonprofit Woods Hole Research Center. From 1973 to 1996 he was on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he co"founded and co"led the interdisciplinary graduate"degree program in energy and resources. Holdren holds advanced degrees in aerospace engineering and theoretical plasma physics from MIT and Stanford and has specialized in energy technology and policy, global climate change, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as foreign member of the Royal Society of London. A former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, his awards include a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship, the John Heinz Prize in Public Policy, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and the Volvo Environment Prize. He served from 1991 until 2005 as a member of the MacArthur Foundation's board of trustees. Ian A. Waitz also serves as the Director of the Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER), an FAA/NASA/Transport Canada"sponsored Center of Excellence. His principal areas of interest are the modeling and evaluation of climate, local air quality and noise impacts of aviation. Waitz has written approximately 75 technical publications, including a report to the U.S. Congress on aviation and the environment. He holds three patents and has consulted for many organizations. During 2002"2005 he was Deputy Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has also served as an associate editor of the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power. In 2003, Waitz received a NASA Turning Goals Into Reality Award for Noise Reduction. He was awarded the FAA 2007 Excellence in Aviation Research Award. He is a Fellow of the AIAA, and an ASME and ASEE member. He was honored with the 2002 MIT Class of 1960 Innovation in Education Award and appointment as an MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow in 2003. Waitz received his B.S. in 1986 from the Pennsylvania State University; his M.S. in 1988, from George Washington University; and his Ph.D.in 1991, from the California Institute of Technology.Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Lecture on steepest entropy ascent quantum dynamics

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:15:18 GMT

30min lecture delivered by Prof. Beretta at the Junilee 40th Symposium on Mathematical Physics "Geometry & Quanta" on June 25, 2008 in Torun, Poland, held in honor of Prof. A. Kossakowski on his 70th birthday.

The lecture summarizes the main mathematical features of the nonlinear dynamical equation proposed in the 1980's by Prof. Beretta and recently "rediscovered" by various authors, to decribe the nonunitary evolution of density operators along the direction of steepest entropy ascent (that is, maximal entropy generation) compatible with energy conservation. The density operator is what describes the state of a system within quantum theory.

More on this subject is available at www.quantumthermodynamics.org where several not readily available papers can be downloaded.

Thermodynamics in a nutshell - The definition of entropy in one lecture

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:28:16 GMT

The first lecture of a short course given by prof. Beretta during IAP 2008 to offer a quick view of how the general principles of thermodynamics can be very effectively presented and taught in a rigorous way, by following the treatment developed in the textbook Gyftopoulos & Beretta, Thermodynamics. Foundations and Applications, Dover, 2005. The treatment resolves conceptual loopholes and logical deficiencies which are present in traditional treatments of thermodynamics, and it is rigorous because it builds up a set of unambiguous definitions of all the basic concepts needed in the exposition. The operational definition of entropy given in this lecture is valid not only for equilibrium states but also for nonequilibrium, and not only for macroscopic systems but also for miscorscopic ones. While viewing the lecture, it may help to open a closeup of the blackboards at the end of the lecture, available at http://web.mit.edu/beretta/www/ThermoNutshellBlackboards-1.htm

Teaching the Second Law

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Robert Silbey is an old hand at teaching chemistry (40 years and counting), yet each time he turns to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, he's "always very nervous."

The Second Law and Biophysics

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/05/2007 8:30 AM Broad InstituteKenneth Dill, '70, SM '71, Professor of Biophysics;; Associate Dean of Research, University of California, San FranciscoDescription: "Biology is messy," says Kenneth Dill , and it's "heavily about entropy." Just look at how biological systems repeat entropy at every possible turn: a parent cell making two daughter cells, sending one DNA molecule to each; and the process of biochemical reactions, with water getting stripped off the molecules. Dill is convinced that the "language of biology in the future will be nonequilibrium statistical mechanics." He's engaged in experiments that explore how dynamical laws apply to very small biological systems, such as those inside cells. Traditional macro"scale dynamics, explains Dill, have laws where concentration gradients or temperature gradients drive flux. But inside cells, there are elements that sometimes contain five molecules, and then in the next instant, 500 molecules. The question is how to think about these highly fluctuating quantities in terms of dynamics. To that end, researchers have been devising experiments to describe the dynamics of micro systems. Dill's colleagues have built a microfluidics apparatus that plots the diffusion of microscopic particles over time, their probable routes and rates. To help frame this work, and make predictions about comparable systems, they use an analogy to entropy, described as caliber. Just as there can be maximum entropy, there can be maximum caliber -- "an extremum principle that predicts the dynamical laws, just as maximum entropy predicts equilibrium," says Dill. This way of modeling fluxes deals with the likely trajectories and speeds traveled by particles within a certain time period. Dill also describes how statistical mechanics applies in the "dog"flea model." Scientists calculate the probabilities of fleas jumping from one dog to another, and of going up against a concentration gradient. Dill says this model can be used "to argue in the simplest way how diffusion works," to predict flux distribution. Scientists have also worked out an experiment to model two"state kinetic processes, such as single ion channels opening and closing. Colloidal particles wiggling in adjacent laser traps can jump over barriers from one trap to the other, depending on the height of the barrier and the depth of the well. This allows researchers to count trajectories, and to measure "the full dynamical distribution functions." The value of the maximum caliber approach, Dill says, is that you get data about the first moment of the system in state "and from them you can predict everything else." Says Dill, "One of the great things about having an extremum principle and partition"based approach is it turns out all kinds of analogies with normal thermodynamics." So far, researchers have only taken the earliest steps to illustrate this new tack. "The potential power of caliber hasn't been tested yet," believes Dill. About the Speaker(s): Kenneth Dill has been a professor at U.C.S.F. since 1982. He is also a faculty biochemist for the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and an Adjunct Professor of Pharmaceutics at the University of Utah. Dill is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Biophysical Society, the American Physical Society, and of the AAAS. He received his S.M. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering, and his Ph.D. in Biology from U.C. Sand Diego. He also completed a Chemistry post"doc at Stanford University.Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Second Law and Energy

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/05/2007 1:00 PM Broad InstituteSteven Chu, Secretary of EnergyDescription: This Nobel Prize"winning scientist admits to staying up late the night before his talk to bone up on thermodynamics. He puts his research to good use, discussing the history and application of the laws of thermodynamics, which have served as "the scientific foundation of how we harness energy, and the basis of the industrial revolution, the wealth of nations." Taking Watt's 1765 steam engine, Stephen Chu illustrates basic principles of thermodynamics -- that energy is conserved, that you can do work from heat, especially when you maximize the difference in temperature in the system and minimize heat dissipation from friction. Chu offers another form of the laws: You can't win; you can't break even; and you can't leave the game. The game hasn't changed all that much in the past few centuries. Nations now burn coal for electricity, achieving around 40% thermal efficiency. Natural gas can be harnessed at higher efficiencies still, and if we could deploy temperature"resistant metals for boilers, even less energy would go to waste. This is a pressing matter, points out Chu, because the planet can no longer afford wanton use of carbon"based fuels. With too much CO2, our global "heat engine" has begun to tip toward a point of no return. So the big question for Chu is whether science can design "entropy engines that can generate sustainable (carbon"free) energy sources. He describes efforts to capture sunlight with improved solar cells, but notes that a silicon shortage, expensive chips, and a learning curve dictated by Moore's law mean the technology won't be widely deployed for 10"15 years -- not fast enough in the battle against climate change. Chu likes the efficiencies of power generation from wind, but there's a limit to turbine size, and the U.S. high voltage transmission network needs a complete and expensive makeover to take full advantage of wind. Forget corn as biofuel, he counsels, since it "barely breaks even in terms of CO2 saved," and focus instead on perennial grasses like miscanthus. Chu's lab and others are looking for microbes that can help turn these plants more readily into fuels. Another potentially rich energy source, Chu says, involves converting sun light into fuel the way plants do in photosynthesis. But "how does nature split water?" asks Chu. Science hasn't entirely figured out the molecular machinery that turns water into oxygen and hydrogen. Deriving bioenergy through artificial photosynthesis may mean considering entropy and other basic laws in a different light, Chu suggests. "Nature turns out to be very good." About the Speaker(s): Steven Chu joined the Physics Department faculty at U.C. Berkeley in 2004. Previously, Chu had been a Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Prior to 1987, he was at Bell Laboratories where he conducted the research that led to his 1997 Nobel Prize in physics, which he shared with Claude Cohen"Tannoudji and William D. Phillips, for methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light. Chu is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Academia Sinica, and is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and of the Korean Academy of Science and Engineering. He serves on the Boards of the Hewlett Foundation, the University of Rochester, and NVIDIA. He served on the Augustine Committee that produced the report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" in 2006. Chu received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1976 and was a post"doctoral fellow there until 1978. He got his B.S. in 1970 from the University of Rochester. Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Second Law and Energy Panel

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/05/2007 1:50 PM Broad Institute ; Seth Lloyd, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems, Engineering Systems Division, MIT; Debjyoti Banerjee, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University; Ernest S. Geskin, Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director of the Waterjet Technology Laboratory, New Jersey Institute of Technology ; Ahmed Ghoniem, Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor,; Mechanical Engineering, MIT; ; James Keck, Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT ; Noam Lior, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania ; Richard Peterson, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering; ; Director of the Advanced Tactical Energy Systems Program, Oregon State University; Thomas Widmer, Former Vice President, Thermo Electron, Inc.; Erik Ydstie, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University; Ron Zevenhoven, Professor of Engineering Thermodynamics and Modelling, Heat Engineering Laboratory, bo Akademi University; Zhuomin Zhang, PhD '92, Professor, G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, ; Georgia Institute of TechnologyDescription: In this valedictory panel to the two"day symposium, 10 speakers offer brief takes on how the Second Law of Thermodynamics might prove useful in seeking answers to our current energy challenge. Even before the oil embargo of 1973, Thomas Widmer recalls, Joe Keenan and his MIT colleagues wrote of an "entropy crisis." They analyzed the flow of work in industries and saw great inefficiencies that became crippling when fuel prices spiked. Despite 30 years of improvement, says Widmer, "the effectiveness of energy use is still less than 12%." In selling ideas to policy makers, he advises, talk about "energy productivity" rather than conservation. Ernest S. Geskin doesn't believe alternative energies will be viable quickly enough to make a serious difference in climate change, so his objective is to improve combustion. He outlines several methods he's developing that increase the availability of generated heat, reduce heat losses, and integrate combustion with materials production and processing, such as in steelmaking. James Keck says that "improving the efficiency and reducing emissions of auto engines and power plant burners requires an ability to model hydrocarbon combustion." He recommends using a method "firmly based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics: the rate controlled constrained equilibrium method," which, among other advantages, generates fewer equations, and is applicable to any separable system. Seeking ways to make reactions more efficient and "less exergy destructive," Noam Lior recommends a detailed, top"down methodology. His lab has been examining oil droplet and coal combustion in an attempt to understand why exergy losses take place, and to determine "which process will give us the highest exergy efficiency." Debjyoti Banerjee's research focuses on enhanced cooling and explosives sensing. His lab explores phase changes for boiling and condensation, and develops new models in molecular dynamics, harnessing the energy of nanosphere transport processes. A "nanobubble" serves as a heat engine, and Banerjee is examining how "nanofins help in transferring heat." Richard Peterson is taking a look "at how small you might be able to make the classic thermodynamic heat engine, so you could integrate it into portable equipment or other devices requiring power, and burn fuel with much higher energy density than found in a battery." He notes that "your efficiency takes a nosedive as you shrink the engine." Erik Ydstie is concerned with dynamic systems like power plants, and how they can be improved, by manipulating their inputs and outputs. By designing better controls to regulate these complex systems, there's a "lot of scope to improve the efficiencies of these plants. You could get quite a bit of mileage by running them better." Ron Zevenhoven "presents the embryo of an idea: Can the infrared radiation that causes the enhanced greenhouse effect be put to better use?" He wants to see whether science can modify the infrared radiation that leaves the earth, in order to cut back on radiative forcing higher up. Zhuomin Zhang discusses radiation entropy and how near"field thermophotovoltaic devices "may be another way of effectively using energy." He wonders how to apply the entropy concept to near"field radiation when interference is a problem. Ahmed Ghoniem says that while we won't run out of cheap fossil fuels for some time, "we need to think about an insurance policy" in response to the predictions of a four to six degree rise in Earth's temperature by the end of the century. "The dirty little secret is once you burn the fuel you automatically generate entropy -- you lose about 20% right off the bat." Ghoniem asks whether "combustion and heat engines can be reinvented to reduce entropy generation, practically and at scale." About the Speaker(s): Seth Lloyd received a Ph.D. in Physics from Rockefeller University, under the supervision of Heinz Pagels. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the High Energy Physics Department at the California Institute of Technology, where he worked with Murray Gell"Mann on applications of information to quantum"mechanical systems. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he worked at the Center for Nonlinear Systems on quantum computation. Since 1988, Lloyd has also been an adjunct faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute.br> Lloyd is a principal investigator at the Research Laboratory of Electronics. He has performed seminal work in the fields of quantum computation and quantum communications, including proposing the first technologically feasible design for a quantum computer, demonstrating the viability of quantum analog computation, proving quantum analogs of Shannon's noisy channel theorem, and designing novel methods for quantum error correction and noise reduction. Lloyd is a member of the American Physical Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Foundations of the Second Law

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/04/2007 1:30 PM Broad InstituteSeth Lloyd, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems, Engineering Systems Division, MIT; ; Gian Paolo Beretta, SM '80, SCD '82; Jochen Gemmer; Speranta Gheorghiu" Svirschevski; Silviu Guiasu; Bernard Guy; Owen Maroney; Dorion Sagan; Ping AoDescription: The nine panelists set out to address, very briefly, some of the key questions of the symposium. Seth Lloyd discusses the Maxwell demon paradox and the spin"echo effect, and how in some cases, in an apparent violation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics "entropy goes up and whoa, goes down then up." He notes that when the laws of thermodynamics appear not to be true, "we simply revise our opinions and re"describe" them, which is "a pathetic situation." Owen Maroney invokes "straightforward statistical mechanical assumptions" in his discussion of whether "something can violate the Second Law or not," and raises Szilard's engine and Landauer's erasure principle. Silviu Guiasu aims to show there is no contradiction between microscopic reversibility of classical mechanics, as described by Hamilton's equations of motion, and macroscopic irreversibility as described by the increase of entropy. Ping Ao believes the dynamics behind Darwinian evolution "provide a natural framework" for thermodynamics, and it remains to translate "global statements to precise mathematical language." Jochen Gemmerdiscusses bubbles in Hilbert space, while examining how we might overcome the apparent contradiction between quantum dynamics and thermodynamics. Bernard Guy focuses on the link between the Second Law and the problem of time, seeking clues for understanding the opposition of reversibility and irreversibility. He sees clashing constructs of time and space in the separate worlds of cognitivists and physicists. Gian Paulo Berretta praises the seminal work and "pioneering intuition" of Keenan and Hatsopoulos, which inspires new answers to such fundamental issues as whether entropy is an intrinsic property of matter, and if irreversibility is an intrinsic feature of microscopic dynamics. Speranta Gheorghiu"Svirschevski believes a nonlinear approach can help reconcile the Second Law and quantum evolution. In particular, she looks for ways to "reconcile locality and separability," while acknowledging that general wisdom says it's not exactly possible. Dorion Sagan says that "ever since Darwin, life has been considered an exception to the Second Law." On the contrary, "entropy, rather, energy spread, and evolution are inextricably linked." Sagan suggests that "life may just be another energy spreading system," and "death is the name we give the inevitable disruption of a specific part of life's network." About the Speaker(s): Robert J. Silbey joined the MIT faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1966. He became Head of the Chemistry Department in 1990"1995. He was appointed Director of the Center for Materials Science & Engineering in 1998. Silbey's primary research concerns the theoretical studies of a) the low temperature thermal properties of glasses, b) energy and electron transfer and relaxation in molecular aggregates, c) the optical and electronic properties of conjugated polymers and d) in collaboration with Professor Field, the dynamics of highly vibrationally excited molecules. Silbey has received numerous teaching awards at MIT, and has lectured extensively throughout the world. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1965.Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Frontiers of the Second Law

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/04/2007 3:30 PM Broad InstituteSeth Lloyd, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems, Engineering Systems Division, MIT; Bjarne Andresen; Eric Schneider; Adrian Bejan, '71, SM '72, PhD '75; Lyndsay Gordon; Miroslav Grmela; George Hatsopoulos, '49, SM '50, ME '54, SCD '56, Chairman, American DG Energy; Signe Kjelstrup; David Jou, Univ of Catalonia; Miguel Rubi, univ of barcelonaDescription: These nine panelists describe ways in which the Second Law of Thermodynamics can be stretched, or applied in less traditional ways. Adrian Bejan has constructed a law that "covers every configuration in physics, from animate, to inanimate, to us, the societal. Bejan demonstrates how his law describes and predicts the tree"shaped flow of all rivers, animal locomotion and human settlement distribution. With it, says Bejan, "thermodynamics becomes a science of systems with configuration" Bjarne Andresen acknowledges "many fights about the Second Law," before declaring his belief that "entropy survives as a concept, and applies equally in the chemistry lab, to the quantum computer and to black holes." He discusses the importance of carefully defining the system under examination beforehand, "otherwise you get into fights with your neighbors. Miguel Rubi discusses how to use the Second Law to extract information about the evolution of small systems. Unlike "canonical thermodynamics," which describe systems in terms of energy, volume and mass, mesoscopic thermodynamics focuses on systems in terms of positions and movement of particles. Some examples of processes explicable by this kind of thermodynamics include the translocation of ions, RNA unfolding under tension, and muscular contractions. Signe Kjelstrup argues that mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics (MNET) can address a longstanding problem in classical nonequilibrium thermodynamics, by addressing "activated processes." Biological systems have heat flow, says Kjelstrup, and "that is as of yet not included in the description of enzyme kinetics. It should be there to quantify lost work in these important systems." "An important question arising in nonequilibrium thermodynamics is not just entropy but temperature," says David Jou, in particular, "the physical meaning of temperature." Jou invokes the extended thermodynamics of viscoelastic systems, and looks for a simple model valid for a modest range of equations. Miroslav Grmela suggests that any time one goes from details to some kind of pattern, "there is an entropy involvedby providing some kind of dissipation, some pattern recognition process." Grmela believes that thermodynamics "find a natural formulation in the setting of contact geometry." Lyndsay Gordon's talk involves Maxwellian valves. He discusses "a machine based on an osmophoretic engine," a simple system with a liquid membrane, solvent and solute, "that is fluctuating completely forever," without information. "This thing goes by itself," he says. Eric Schneider discerns "laws of ecology" in such gradient systems as the energy flow between the sun and earth. "We can determine "heat and entropy production in the system," as well as "ecological successions and directional processes that directly tie them to Darwinian evolution." He advises his colleagues "to encourage policy makers to use exergy analyses on future energy development projects." Symposium organizer George Hatsopoulos wraps up by noting "that as far as I know in thermodynamics, there is no statement that says the Second Law implies the increase of entropy. The Second Law only says that the entropy cannot decrease, but there's nothing wrong with entropy staying put." We have evidence that in some cases it appears the entropy increases, but that's not the "Second Law." About the Speaker(s): Seth Lloyd received a Ph.D. in Physics from Rockefeller University, under the supervision of Heinz Pagels. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the High Energy Physics Department at the California Institute of Technology, where he worked with Murray Gell"Mann on applications of information to quantum"mechanical systems. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he worked at the Center for Nonlinear Systems on quantum computation. Since 1988, Lloyd has also been an adjunct faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute.br> Lloyd is a principal investigator at the Research Laboratory of Electronics. He has performed seminal work in the fields of quantum computation and quantum communications, including proposing the first technologically feasible design for a quantum computer, demonstrating the viability of quantum analog computation, proving quantum analogs of Shannon's noisy channel theorem, and designing novel methods for quantum error correction and noise reduction. Lloyd is a member of the American Physical Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

J.H. Keenan's Contribution to Thermodynamics

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/04/2007 8:00 AM Broad InstituteAhmed Ghoniem, Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor,; Mechanical Engineering, MIT; ; Dr. Susan Hockfield, President, MIT; George Hatsopoulos, '49, SM '50, ME '54, SCD '56, Chairman, American DG EnergyDescription: Joseph Henry Keenan, whom this symposium honors, died in 1977, but his groundbreaking work continues to influence the field of thermodynamics, as his colleagues, prot_g_s and scientific descendants attest. Keenan's efforts had practical outcomes, such as determining the properties of steam, which boosted the electric power industry. But as Ahmed Ghoniem says, Keenan's exploration and reformulation of the laws of thermodynamics helped place this field in the center of such diverse, contemporary disciplines as the life sciences, energy, information, computation and the nanosciences. "The field has grown from a model of the heat engine to a set of fundamental principles that govern energy conversion in all forms." Keenan played a powerful role in MIT's history as well, notes Susan Hockfield. In Keenan's 40 years at the Institute, he served as a model teacher. He founded a school of thought and shaped the teaching and application of thermodynamics worldwide. His research "combined developing practical engineering tools with providing explanations of deep subtlety," and he set a standard for academic leadership, heading the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the difficult post"Sputnik era. To George Hatsopoulos, Keenan was "my mentor, my friendHis intuition was so unbelievably right; he always led me the right way." Hatsopoulos shares personal anecdotes about Keenan's rigorous thinking and precision with language, and offers two short video clips taken by Keenan's daughter shortly before his death that reveal his method of inquiry. Hatsopoulos suggests that were Keenan alive, he would ask the symposium presenters and audience the following question: "Is entropy an intrinsic property of any system, whether microscopic or macroscopic, whether in a state of equilibrium or nonequilibrium? " About the Speaker(s): Ahmed Ghoniem's research interests include high performance computing in turbulent reactive flow, computational mathematics, combustion dynamics and active control, modeling and simulation of transport"chemistry interactions in thermochemical and electrochemical systems including high temperature fuel cells, gasification processes and fuel production. He also explores high"performance, zero"emission integrated energy systems with CO2 capture. Ghoniem has a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cairo University, Egypt, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. George N. Hatsopoulos is also the founder and CEO of Pharos, LLC, an organization devoted to the creation of leading edge business ventures. He is also the founder and chairman emeritus of Thermo Electron Corporation, and served as Chairman and CEO since its founding in 1956 until his retirement from those positions in 1999. Hatsopoulos has served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, including a term as chairman. He was a member of the SEC Advisory Committee on Capital Formation and Regulatory Process, the Advisory Committee of the US Export"Import Bank, and the boards of various corporations and institutions. Hatsopoulos is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and other scientific and technical organizations. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards in engineering, science, industry and academics, has authored over 60 articles in professional journals, and is the principal author of textbooks in Thermodynamics and Thermionic Energy Conversion. Hatsopoulos has been a faculty member and senior lecturer at MIT and continues his association with the Institute as a Life Member of the Corporation and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Committee. Hatsopoulos holds a bachelors degree from the National Technical University of Athens, and masters and doctorate degrees from MIT.Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Second Law and Cosmology

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/04/2007 11:10 AM Broad InstituteMax Tegmark, Associate Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, MITDescription: In spite of its old age, the Second Law of Thermodynamics "is alive and kicking," says Max Tegmark, stimulating research on "really, really big puzzles." In Tegmark's case, "big" encompasses the cosmos, and investigating the entropy of the universe offers one path into understanding "how we started out." Tegmark frames his talk with paradoxical questions: Why is entropy so low, and why is entropy so high? The first question is "crucial to understanding the arrow of time," and involves the microscopic definition of entropy. 13.7 billion years after the Big Bang, entropy in the observable universe is in "the ballpark of 1089 bits -- crudely speaking, a google." This is much lower than the theoretical limit to how much entropy our cosmos could contain. Also, Tegmark wonders, why has our solar system ended up so far from thermal equilibrium, since when the universe was younger, the temperature was almost the same everywhere? It turns out that in cosmology, unlike classical physics, atoms start out at uniform density and end up, abetted by gravity, "clumpy," with gas getting denser and forming stars. Tegmark shows a supercomputer simulation of this process, which depicts the evolution of a universe with galaxies and solar systems like our own. Different temperatures in the universe aren't due to magic, he says, just Einstein's theory of gravity and basic gas physics. But, Tegmark ponders, why was the universe uniform in the beginning? One "crazy sounding answer" involves inflation. A tiny region of space much smaller than an atom, which is very uniform and very dense, begins to expand exponentially, until it makes up all space in our known universe. It gets weirder. Tegmark invokes inflation to explain not only the low entropy of the cosmos, but its high entropy as well. That same 1089 bits can also be viewed as "such a big number that it suggeststhat we're in some kind of multiverse, or some much larger reality than what we can observe." The initial conditions that make up these 1089 bits "just tell us where in space we live, our address in space." We should call the Big Bang "not the beginning but the end of inflation in this part of space. If we zoom out in the universe, we should expect to see much more entropy." If you don't get this intuitively, that's OK, Tegmark reassures us, but "if we categorically reject ideas in science just because they feel crazy, we will probably reject whatever the correct theory is, too." About the Speaker(s): Max Tegmark left Sweden in 1990 after receiving his B.Sc. in Physics from the Royal Institute of Technology (he'd earned a B.A. in Economics the previous year at the Stockholm School of Economics). He studied physics at the University of California, Berkeley, earning his M.A. in 1992, and Ph.D. in 1994. Tegmark then became a research associate with the Max"Planck"Institut fôr Physik in Munich. In 1996 he headed back to the U.S. as a Hubble Fellow and member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. Several years later, Tegmark became an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received tenure in 2003. He moved to MIT in September 2004, along with his wife, fellow astrophysicist Angelica de Oliveira"Costa. Tegmark has received numerous awards for his research, including a Packard Fellowship (2001"06), Cottrell Scholar Award (2002"07), and an NSF Career grant (2002"07). His work with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey collaboration on galaxy clustering shared the first prize in Science magazine's "Breakthrough of the Year: 2003." Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Second Law and Quantum Physics

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/04/2007 10:20 AM Broad InstituteCharles Bennett, IBM Fellow, IBMDescription: In this often droll lecture on a very abstract subject, Charles Bennettexplores entropy, "one of my long loves," and how it relates to quantum information. He first reminds his audience that such information is reducible to qubits, a two"state system that can exist in a superposition of states -- such as the polarized photon. Bennett believes that "quantum mechanics helps resolves the paradox or puzzle of the origin of the second law" of thermodynamics-the irreversible increase of entropy. Classical science might invoke chaos dynamics or environmental effects to explain entropy. The quantum way of viewing it involves entanglement. In classical mechanics, when two subsystems in a definite state interact "by some deterministic reversible interaction," there will be a definite output for each subsystem. "The entropy of the whole thing will be 0+0 =0." But while the entropy output of two quantum systems interacting might be 0, the individual subsystems manage to have "as much entropy as they could possibly have." This is due to entanglement, "a state of the whole system that cannot be described by attributing states to its parts. Two entangled photons can be said to be in a definite state of sameness even though neither has a polarization of its own." Bennett acknowledges "this is an idea that's hard to explain to many people," although he believes that back in 1967, during the Summer of Love, many people "could understand this from an intuitive sense, if not mathematically." Bennett plays with the famous evanescence of quantum information, noting that the photons illuminating him fill up the room with "optical replicas of the shape of my nose." But where do they go? He says, "If no record is made of which path a photon follows through an interferometer, or if a record is made but then unmade, the photons will have followed a superposition of both paths. Putting it in slightly theological terms, after the experiment is over, even God doesn't remember which path it followed." Most classical information, such as "a pattern of snowflakes or grains of rice in last night's dinner," is impermanent, though occasionally frozen by a fossil"like process, Bennett says. It's like a medallion he saw in a flea market: "In 1832, on this spot, nothing happened." But even if information in our physical world is doomed to vanish, in spite of our digital"age efforts to duplicate everything, "the particular physics of our universe" viewed from the perspective of quantum dynamics, seems to "evolve in a complexity"increasing manner, under appropriate conditions," concludes Bennett. About the Speaker(s): Charles H. Bennett received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1970 for molecular dynamics studies (computer simulation of molecular motion). He worked at the Argonne Laboratory for two years following graduation. He has been at IBM since 1972, where he has explored various aspects of the relation between physics and information. He developed a practical system of quantum cryptography, in collaboration with Gilles Brassard and John Smolin. Other research interests include algorithmic information theory, and the physics of computation. In 1993, Bennett and Brassard with other collaborators discovered "quantum teleportation." Bennett is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Second Law and Statistical Mechanics

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

10/04/2007 9:00 AM Broad InstituteDick Bedeaux, Professor II of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NorwayDescription: Dick Bedeaux patiently traces the evolution of the second law of thermodynamics from its formulation in the mid"19th century through today, from the perspective of statistical mechanics. In its earliest form, as laid out by Rudolf Clausius, the law states that the entropy of the world always increases. This proposition in some sense launched the field of thermodynamics, according to Bedeaux: "It got going in order to understand exactly where the laws came from." There was particular interest in exploring entropy in terms of the motions of particles. Scientists began refining theories around the behavior of gas in equilibrium, looking at density, velocity distribution, potential energy and heat conductivity. After Maxwell and Boltzmann appeared to have succeeded at a proof of the second law, other scientists questioned its validity: If Newton's equations are reversible, they reasoned, why can't a system in some sense reverse velocities and return along the same path? Others worked out the recurrence paradox, that "if you take any kind of motion in phase space and follow trajectories, that trajectory after a sufficiently long time will come arbitrarily close to the original point" These two paradoxes posed a fundamental challenge to proofs of the second law. The debate continued through the end of the 19th century, into the 20th, with additional efforts to refine the notion of entropy using concepts of probability -- courtesy of the burgeoning discipline of statistical mechanics, according to Bedeaux. This field enabled better descriptions of equilibrium and non"equilibrium states. There was "a lot of progress," says Bedeaux: Einstein explained Brownian motion in 1905, and closer to our own era, scientists "punched a hole in the argument about the recurrence paradox," using probabilistic descriptions. Nevertheless, in our own times, "in non"equilibrium statistical mechanics, there is as yet no fully satisfactory derivation of the second law." To meet this challenge, a proof should provide a simple mechanical example, "like hard discs between reflecting walls, in order to be convincing." While equations of motion on the microscopic level incorporating the idea of irreversibility demonstrate entropy production, it's uncertain "whether Mother Nature believes this herself -- we must do experiments to verify," concludes Bedeaux. About the Speaker(s): Before his appointment in Norway, Dick Bedeaux was Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. He extended the theory of irreversible thermodynamics to the description of heat, mass and charge transport along, into and through boundary layers. More recently he worked on the description of curved surfaces in the context of equilibrium thermodynamics. Bedeaux has co"authored the book Optical Properties of Surfaces with Jan Vlieger. He received his Ph.D. from Utrecht University, Netherlands in 1969. Host(s): School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering

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Lecture 9 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 8 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 7 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 6 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 5 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 4 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 3 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 2 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 1 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Personalized Energy

Lecture 36 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 35 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 34 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 33 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 32 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 31 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 30 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 29 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 28 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 27 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 26 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 25 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 24 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 23 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 22 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 21 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 20 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 19 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 18 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 17 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 16 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 15 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 14 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 13 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 12 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 11 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 10 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 9 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 8 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 7 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 6 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 5 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

Lecture 4 | MIT 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science, Fall 2008

The Next Giant Leaps in Energy, Environment, & Air Transportation

Lecture on steepest entropy ascent quantum dynamics

Thermodynamics in a nutshell - The definition of entropy in one lecture

Teaching the Second Law

The Second Law and Biophysics

The Second Law and Energy

The Second Law and Energy Panel