Background
Nicolas Carnot, a mechanical engineer in the French Army, as well as a military scientist and physicist, is often labeled as the “father of thermodynamics.” At the age of 27 Carnot published a book, Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire (Paris, 1824). In his book Carnot wrote the first “successful theory of the maximum efficiency of heat engines,” as well as outlining the idea of the internal combustion engine. In doing so, he began the discipline of thermodynamics. Carnot’s writing...