25 quotes
Who sees the future? Let us have free scope for all directions of research; away with dogmatism, either atomistic or anti-atomistic!
Lectures on Gas Theory (1898)
I am conscious of being only an individual struggling weakly against the stream of time.
Lectures on Gas Theory (1898)
In my view all salvation for philosophy may be expected to come from Darwin's theory.
The summits of the curve would represent the worlds where visible motion and life exist.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
The system of particles always changes from an improbable to a probable state.
We assume that the whole universe is, and rests for ever, in thermal equilibrium.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
I take my stand before you as a reactionary, a survivor, who is still an enthusiast for the old and the classical as opposed to the modem.
For a long time the celebrated theory of Boscovich was the ideal of physicists. According to his theory, bodies as well as the ether are aggregates of material points, acting together with forces, which are simple functions of their distances.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
Assuming the universe great enough, the probability that such a small part of it as our world should be in its present state, is no longer small.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
The assumption that the gas molecules are aggregates of material points, in the sense of Boscovich, does not agree with the facts. But what else are they? And what is the ether through which they move?
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
If we assume the universe great enough, we can make the probability of one relatively small part being in any given state (however far from the state of thermal equilibrium), as great as we please.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
I propose to answer two questions:—
(1) Is the Theory of Gases a true physical theory as valuable as any other physical theory?
(2) What can we demand from any physical theory?
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
The first question I answer in the affirmative, but the second belongs not so much to ordinary physics (let us call it orthophysics) as to... metaphysics.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
[W]e will be able to identify that quantity which is usually called entropy with the probability of the particular state.
[I]t is possible to calculate the state of the equilibrium of heat by finding the probability of the different possible states of the system.
The initial state in most cases is bound to be highly improbable and from it the system will always rapidly approach a more probable state until it finally reaches the most probable state, i.e., that of the heat equilibrium.
If this assumption were correct, our world would return more and more to thermal equilibrium; but because the whole universe is so great, it might be probable that at some future time some other world might deviate as far from thermal equilibrium as our world does at present.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
I pointed out in the second part of my paper... that my Minimum Theorem, as well as the so-called Second Law of Thermodynamics, are only theorems of probability. The Second Law can never be proved mathematically by means of the equations of dynamics alone.
On Certain Questions of the Theory of Gases (1895)
Available energy is the main object at stake in the struggle for existence and the evolution of the world.
Attributed
Bring forward what is true, Write it so that it is clear, Defend it to your last breath!
Attributed