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Peter Tait
In the history of thermodynamics, Peter Guthrie Tait (1831-1901), a Scottish mathematical physicist, was an early developer of the newly forming science of thermo-dynamics, being closely associated with English physicist William Thomson and Scottish physicist James Maxwell. The three of them, being life-long good friends, for instance, used the shorthand of “θ∆ics” to signify the science of thermodynamics, in personal communications postcards. [1] In an 1867 letter to Tait from Maxwell, the now-famous thought experiment of Maxwell’s demon was conceived. [2] One of his better known publications, co-written with Scottish physicist William Thomson was the 1867 Treatise on Natural Philosophy, a seminal energy physics textbook. It was important for establishing energy within the structure of the theory of mechanics. [3] The following year, Tait wrote the short 128-page A Sketch of Thermodynamics, in which he expanded on his 1864 articles “Dynamical Theory of Heat” and “Energy” published in the North British Review. [4] This was one of the first publications to discuss, in large, the "history of thermodynamics". [5]
References
1. Mahon, Basil. (2003). The Man Who Changed Everything - the Life and Science of James Clerk Maxwell, (pg. 132). UK: Wiley.
2. Schmitz, John E.J. (2007). The Second Law of Life: Energy, Technology, and the Future of Earth as We Know It. William Andrew Publishing.
3. Tait, Peter Guthrie (1831-1901) - Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography.
4. Tait, Peter G. (1868). Sketch of Thermodynamics. Kessinger Publisher (reprint).
5. (a) Maxwell, James C. (1878). “Tait’s ‘Thermodynamics’ (I)”, (pgs. 257-59). Nature, Jan. 31.
(b) Maxwell, James C. (1878). “Tait’s ‘Thermodynamics’ (II)”, (pgs. 278-81). Nature, Feb. 07.
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