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D. Blanuša’s Formulae for Transforming Heat and Temperature in Relativistic Thermodynamics and his Correspondence with W. Pauli in 1948

Tomislav Petković

Sažetak

Danilo Blanuša (December 7, 1903 – August 8, 1987) was one of the greatest Croatian mathematicians and physicists of the 20th century. His fundamental contribution to physics is connected with applications of the special theory of relativity to phenomenological thermodynamics. In 1947, Blanuša derived original formulae for transforming the quantities of heat and temperature, which were essentially different from those derived by Planck and Einstein in 1907. The situation was controversial with respect to the fact that the Planck–Einstein formulae were stated to be correct and indisputable by W. Pauli in his famous book on the theory of relativity (1921). Due to his greatest respect for Pauli’s work and his big role in physics, Blanuša wrote a comprehensive scientific letter (March 15, 1948) to Pauli and to P. Urban (June 1, 1948) in Graz, an old friend from his student days in Vienna. In both letters Blanuša discussed his
thermodynamical concepts. Blanuša’s starting point for developing his formulae was associating simplified physical pictures with
thermodynamics quantities under a Lorentz transformation, and clearing up conceptual contradictions which were concealed in Planck’s deduction. By presuming that Pauli was an admirer of Planck due to agreement of his deduction with works of Einstein and Minkowsky, Blanuša had approved his formulae also by means of Blanuša’s tensor Bik of components connected with phenomenological heat convection. Blanuša had reported or published his formulae a few times (1947, 1949, and 1951) either in Croatian or Yugoslav journals, but never in any of the prestige journals of physics of that time. Those formulae were historically attributed to H. Ott (Zeitschrift für Physik 175, (1963) 70–104), who had also discussed and derived them in a pure relativistic manner. In Ott’s paper, Blanuša’s work which had been done 16 years earlier, was not referred to at all. Blanuša was not mentioned in a paper by H. Arzeliès (Nuovo Cimento 35, (1965) 792) either. However, in the recent profound theoretical examination by I. Derado and E. Ferrari (FIZIKA A (Zagreb) 8 (1999) 4, 223–228) the importance of Blanuša’s contribution to the subject was strongly emphasized. A basic motivation for Blanuša’s letter to Pauli was scientific truth, particularly his intimate wish that de Broglie could have incorporated Blanuša’s formulae in his new project of developing quantum mechanical thermodynamics, rather than those of Planck. Croatian public had been informed on the scientific correspondence between
Blanuša and Pauli by the author of this paper by two lectures: the first at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (May 29, 2003), and the second at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (July 1, 2003), both on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Blanuša’s birth. On the same issue author spoke at the 22nd International Congress of History of Science (July
24–30, 2005, Beijing) for the world public. In the paper dedicated to the Cres symposium, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Einstein’s Special theory of relativity, the scientific facts and philosophical arguments to give Blanuša a historical place of the first inventor of the correct formulae for transforming heat and temperature in relativistic thermodynamics had been demonstrated.

Ključne riječi

relativistic thermodynamics; transforming formulae of heat and temperature; Danilo Blanuša; Blanuša’s formulae; Wolfgang Pauli; Heinrich Ott; Henri Arzeliès; Blanuša’s responsibility of a scientist

Hrčak ID:

11170

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/11170

Datum izdavanja:

5.10.2006.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 2.701 *