...but why thermodynamics?
I have had this very strange sensation in recent weeks that somehow thermodynamics is "clicking" for me. This, despite that I haven't thought about it much for years.
Suddenly in the rain I had this vision of _why_ water evaporates -- that the energy is sloshing between different vibrational modes (due to equipartition) and that (if it's warm enough) every so often enough energy piles up in one place to snap the intermolecular bonds in the liquid and leave the molecules flying away.
I spent a little time thinking about why thermo, and why now. Part of it I suppose was this lovely book I read a few months ago. But beyond that I'm not sure.
It's also possible this mystical sense of "getting it" is illusory. The real test would be to sit down and calculate something or make a prediction
Suddenly in the rain I had this vision of _why_ water evaporates -- that the energy is sloshing between different vibrational modes (due to equipartition) and that (if it's warm enough) every so often enough energy piles up in one place to snap the intermolecular bonds in the liquid and leave the molecules flying away.
I spent a little time thinking about why thermo, and why now. Part of it I suppose was this lovely book I read a few months ago. But beyond that I'm not sure.
It's also possible this mystical sense of "getting it" is illusory. The real test would be to sit down and calculate something or make a prediction