Reaching absolute zero - further reading
There are a huge number of books on thermodynamics, so this page will just deal with those that give a reasonable treatment of low temperature physics and the third law of thermodynamics, and so of the impossibility of reaching absolute zero. I'll make one exception to this rule:
| The second law
Peter W Atkins | Scientific American Books | ISBN: 071675004X
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As the title suggests, this book looks at the 2nd rather than the 3rd law, but is useful as an introduction to the subject of thermodynamics, and contains plenty of diagrams
Reviews of The second law
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Books for the general reader
The refrigerator and the universe
Martin Goldstein | Harvard University Press, 1993 | ISBN: 0674753240
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Those of you who want a substantial introduction to thermodynamics, but without going into the technicalities, should take a look at this book.
Some might find it slow going, but it isn't difficult to read so most readers will find the insight gained to be very worthwhile. The book devotes a chapter to the 3rd law
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Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
Tom Shachtman | Mariner Books, 2000 | ISBN: 0618082395
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I haven't read this book, but it looks to be an interesting investigation into the understanding of cold - is it just the absence of heat? - and into the attempts to achieve ever lower temperatures. It seems more directed towards the people involved in this quest, rather than the science involved.
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Superconductivity
V L Ginzburg and E A Andryushin | World Scientific, 2004 | ISBN: 981238913X
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If you're more interested in the physics and applications of cryogenic temperatures should take a look at this book. The authors explain the subject in easy to follow way (although sometimes a sentence seems a bit stilted), but without oversimplifying things too much
Reviews of Superconductivity
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History of low temperature physics
| The quest for absolute zero
Kurt Mendelssohn | Taylor and Francis, 1977 | ISBN: 0850661196
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Mendelssohn studied with Nernst for many years. This book gives an account of the attempts to achieve ever lower temperatures, with plenty of helpful diagrams.
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| The world of Walther Nernst
Kurt Mendelssohn | Macmillan, 1973 | ISBN: 0333148959
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If you're interested in Nernst, who formulated the third law of thermodynamics early in the 20th century, then this is the book for you. It also gives an insight into the society in which Nernst (and Mendelssohn to some extent) lived.
Reviews of The world of Walther Nernst
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Textbooks
There are a huge number of textbooks on thermodynamics, so again I'll just mention those which devote a reasonable amount of space to the 3rd Law. The textbooks below are aimed at an undergraduate level of study. All textbooks on this subject will involve a fair amount of mathematics. The following four books a fairly short, and so would suit those who don't want a huge textbook on the subject
| Entropy and its physical meaning
J.S. Dugdale | Taylor and Francis, 1996 | ISBN: 0748405690
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The first half of book has plenty of discussion of the concepts involved, which makes the maths less of a problem (the later parts seemed more mathematical to me). The book has exercises at the end of each chapter, with solutions at the end, and would be a good choice for independent study of thermodynamics.
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An introduction to statistical thermodynamics
Robert Gasser and W G Richards | World Scientific, 1995 | ISBN: 9810223722
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The authors manage to pack a significant amount of useful material into this small book, such as calculation of heat capacities and the behaviour of materials at low temperatures as well as chemical properties such as rates of reaction and spectroscopy.
Reviews of An introduction to statistical thermodynamics
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| Equilibrium thermodynamics
C.J. Adkins | Cambridge University Press, 1968 | ISBN: 0521274567
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This book presents thermodynamics from the macroscopic point of view. I can't say that I agree that this is the best way to introduce the subject, but it does mean that there is a large amount of material in a small book.
Reviews of Equilibrium thermodynamics
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| The third law of thermodynamics
J Wilks | Oxford University Press, 1961 | ISBN: 0198514107
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This book written almost fifty years ago, and a lot has happened in low temperature science since that time, but I feel that it is of more than just historical interest, especially if your aim is to find out about to the 3rd law.
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| Thermal physics
Ralph Baierlein | Cambridge University Press, 1999 | ISBN: 0521590825
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Packs a significant part of the subject into just 400 pages and what is more does so in a reasonably reader-friendly way, with plenty of illustrations and examples of how thermodynamics links in with everyday life. Includes a chapter on the descent to absolute zero.
Reviews of Thermal physics
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Thermodynamics and an introduction to thermostatistics
Herbert B Callen | Wiley, 1985 | ISBN: 0471862568
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Gives a solid grounding in thermodynamics, but always keeps in mind the deeper, more philosophical questions of the subject. In the chapter on the third law Callen discusses the validity of the deduction of the unattainability of absolute zero.
Reviews of Thermodynamics and an introduction to thermostatistics
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Academic Papers
In
Nonequivalence of the Nernst-Simon and unattainability statements of the third law of thermodynamics John C Wheeler looks at the attainability of absolute zero for a theoretical system which obeys the other laws of thermodynamics (
Abstract)
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