Physicist Solves 120-Year-Old Thermodynamics Puzzle and Corrects Einstein

A thermodynamics mystery dating back to 1905 has been resolved by University of Seville professor José María Martín-Olalla, who demonstrates that the Nernst theorem is inherently tied to the second law of thermodynamics. His reinterpretation corrects a long-standing assumption made by Einstein, reframing how physicists understand the behavior of entropy near absolute zero. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

The paper argues that the third principle of thermodynamics follows from the second principle, rather than being a separate or independent concept.

Professor José María Martín-Olalla of the University of Seville has published a paper addressing a thermodynamics problem that has remained unresolved for 120 years. In doing so, he corrects an idea proposed by Albert Einstein more than a century ago.

The paper links Nernst’s theorem, an experimental observation from 1905 stating that entropy exchanges approach zero as temperature approaches zero, directly to the second principle of thermodynamics. Published in The European Physical Journal Plus, the study extends the implications of the second principle, which states that entropy in the universe tends to increase.

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