Thermodynamics 2.0 | T2022 Themes Issues Published!
Theme Issue on Thermodynamics 2.0
We are soliciting articles for the Thermodynamics 2.0 Theme Issue with the Philosophical Transactions A of the Royal Society.
The theme issue is titled “Thermodynamics 2.0: Bridging the natural and social sciences”, and will include articles that utilize the three languages energy, entropy, and information as well as their proxies (e.g. power, networks, etc.) in the social sciences with the aim being toward a more unified system of human knowledge. The subject area to be covered under this theme issue will deal with theoretical and applied advances in bridging the natural and social sciences, with emphasis on methods sourced from thermodynamics and quantum mechanics.
The keywords for the theme issue are: universal science, energy, economy, and evolution. Universal Science aims toward a unified system of human knowledge that looks at the living and non-living from the same viewpoint. In the limit, the science of living beings must correspond to the science of the non-living that natural sciences such as physics and chemistry deal with presently. We also encourage articles along the philosophical lines of Baruch Spinoza and the epistemological foundations of energetics by Ostwald and Helm. The Two Cultures division, as propounded by CP Snow, is an obstacle in solving the contemporary world’s problems. Thermodynamics 2.0 plans to integrate the engines of human ingenuity across two cultures to inform issues challenging humanity in the 21st century and beyond. After all, human beings are a part of nature.
Thermodynamics is a universal science. This theme issue will focus on the applications of ideas and framework within the the universal science to understand the phenomenon of man in the cosmos, as well as the physical basis of economy and evolution.
Here is a link to a sample Theme Issue of Royal Society.
We welcome your contribution in one of the following forms:
| + Introductory Article | + Theory/Ideas Papers |
| + Research Article | + Retrospectives |
| + Review Article | + Mini-Reviews |
| + Opinion Pieces | + Debates or Rebuttal |
| + Future Perspectives | + Policy papers, and Others |
We also welcome contributions addressing the open questions of Thermodynamics 2.0. As summarized on our homepage, some sample open questions in this field are as follows:
- How did cooperative behavior evolve?
- What is life?
- What is the physical principle underlying Evolution?
- What is Money?
- Why is there Poverty?
- What are the organizational forces and principles that lead to an emergence, by which the whole can become greater or less than the sum of its parts, etc?
Theme Issue Editors:
- Ram Poudel, Appalachian State University
- Emmanuel Haven, Memorial University
- Umit Gunes, Duke University & Yildiz Technical University
- Georgi Georgiev, Assumption University
- Hongkun Zhang, University of Massachusetts
For any questions, please contact the Coordinator Ram Poudel at rcpoudel@appstate.edu.
Thank you for your support of interdisciplinary efforts bridging the natural sciences and social sciences!