The following are just opinions. Many theorems are applicable by geologists on the spot, in the field. Books' emphases on quantities in thermodynamics often overlooks these.

To read English literature, one needs a dictionary of the period. Similarly, scientific terms change their meanings with time. 'Body' is commonly replaced by 'system' in classical thermodynamics. Scientific objects and their changes (phenomena) are characterized by quantity and quality.

Quantities are specified by three parts: the operation used to obtain it (such as its mass by balance), a unit (such as formula unit of lead oxide: PbO), and the number of units (a number, often from the real number system for continuous models). These correspond to three properties of a vector: its direction, its unit vector, and its magnitude.

Although some scientists deal only with quantities, many thermodynamic theorems are of greater generality. One may need not know the actual vectors involved: homogeneous vectors, rays, or lines may suffice. This blurs the distinction between quantitative and qualitative, for the orientation of colors in a mineral or rocks on the ground may suffice to determine whether temperature had once been increasing or decreasing with time or position.

Russell, B. 1903. The Principles of Mathematics. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. 534 p.

Meyerson, E. 1930. Identity & Reality. (Trans. from French) London: G. Allen & Unwin. 495 p.

Bridgman, P. 1927. The Logic of Modern Physics. New York: Macmillan. 228 p.

Barrow, G. 1893. On an intrusion of muscovite-biotite gneiss in the south-east Highlands of Scotland. Geol. Soc. London Quart. Jour. v.49, p. 330-58.

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