In science, stress is a deforming force applied to a body. [1] The resulting change in shape of the body due to stress is called strain. In another sense, stress is a force per unit area on a body that tends to cause deform. [2]
Human thermodynamics
In 1998, American biomechanical engineer Satish Boregowda completed his PhD dissertation on a second law based thermodynamic modeling of human physical and mental stress. [5]
In 2003, American mechanical engineer Gilbert Wedekind has attempted to explain stress that results when people are overworked in terms of entropy, albeit in slightly religious terms. [3]
In 2006, Iranian-born American materials science and electrical engineer Robert Kenoun attempted to explain the stress of family transitions in terms of thermodynamics via internal energy changes. He argued, for instance, that if one member of the system of a family were to leave, e.g. a father dies, which he correlates to a “loss of mass” in the system, there would result an increase of internal stress among the relational bonds of the remaining members, which Kenoun equates to a change in the internal energy of the system. [4]
References
1. Clark, John O.E. (2004). The Essential Dictionary of Science. Barnes & Noble.
2. Daintith, John. (2005). Oxford Dictionary of Science. Oxford University Press.
3. Wedekind, Gilbert L. (2003). Spiritual Entropy: Life-Changing Insights Revealed by a Unique Natural law (pgs. ix, xii, 148). Xulon Press.
4. Kenoun, Robert. (2006). A Proposition to Theory of History and Social Evolution (pgs. vii, xvii-xviii). Trafford Publishing.
5. (a) Boregowda, Satish C. (1998). Thermodynamic Modeling and Analysis of Stress Responses (abs) (WorldCat), PhD dissertation. Old Dominion University.
(b) Boregowda, Satish C. and Karwowski, Waldemar. (2005). “Modeling of Human Physiological Stresses: A Thermodynamics-based Approach” (abstract), Occupational Ergonomics, 5: 235-48.
Further reading
● Pati, Surya. (2009). “Stress Management and Innovation: a Thermodynamics View”, Journal of Human Thermodynamics, Sep., 5: 22-32.
External links
● Stress (biology) – Wikipedia.
● Stress (mechanics) – Wikipedia.
