Download or read book Economics and Thermodynamics written by Peter Burley and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past two decades we have witnessed something of a revolution in the natural sciences as thermodynamic thinking evolved from an equilibrium, or 'classical', perspective, to a nonequilibrium, or 'self organisational' one. In this transition, thermodynamics has been applied in new ways and in new fields of inquiry. Chemical and biological (evolutionary) processes have been analysed, increasingly, in non equilibrium thermodynamical terms. Economics has, since the late 19th century, relied heavily upon metaphors and analogies derived from the natural sciences - mechanical analogies cast in terms of traditional Newtonian physics and expressed in terms of Cartesian logic have been especially popular. Thermodynamics, on the other hand, has been less popular, despite its early application in economics by Stanley Jevons, the father of modern notions of utility maximisation in neoclassical economics, and despite its promotion in economic contexts by Paul Samuelson, the author of the definitive treatise upon which post war neoclassical economic theory was based, namely, his Foundations of Economic Analysis. The general neglect of thermodynamic thinking in economics was brought to our attention by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen in the late 1960s, by which time economic theory, evidenced in, for example, the Arrow Debreu general eqUilibrium system, had become so sophisticated that it could not be penetrated by thermodynamical ideas. To Georgescu Roegen, this presented something of a crisis in economics because neglect of thermodynamics led, in his view, to blindness amongst economists to an economy/environment problem in the global economy.
Download or read book Integrating Economics Ecology and Thermodynamics written by Matthias Ruth and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economies are open systems embedded in an ecosystem with which they exchange matter and energy. Interactions among these systems are vital for each system's performance and are constrained by the laws of physics. This volume pays tribute to economy--environment interactions simultaneously from an economic, ecological and physical perspective. Integrating Economics, Ecology and Thermodynamics provides a first step in identifying and combining the principles of economics, ecology and thermodynamics on a fundamental level. Part I lays out the general context for the approach chosen. Part II familiarizes readers with core concepts of, and methods used in, the three disciplines of economics, ecology and thermodynamics. Part III assesses ways in which these disciplines can be integrated to provide an improved understanding of economy--environment interactions. Part IV illustrates the integration of the three disciplines with a dynamic model of a human community interacting with its environment. In Part V the volume closes with a brief summary and a set of conclusions on the relevance of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to economy--environment interactions.
Download or read book The Physical Foundation of Economics written by Jing Chen and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2005 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All human activities, including mental activities, are governed by physical laws and are essentially thermodynamic processes. However, current economic theories are not established on these foundations. This pioneering book seeks to develop an analytical theory of economics on the foundation of thermodynamic laws. A unified understanding of economic and social phenomena is presented, an understanding that is much simpler than what mainstream economic theory has to offer. Its aim is to revolutionize thinking in economics and transform social sciences into an integral part of the physical and biological sciences.
Download or read book The Second Law of Economics written by Reiner Kümmel and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing happens in the world without energy conversion and entropy production. These fundamental natural laws are familiar to most of us when applied to the evolution of stars, biological processes, or the working of an internal combustion engine, but what about industrial economies and wealth production, or their constant companion, pollution? Does economics conform to the First and the Second Law of Thermodynamics? In this important book, Reiner Kümmel takes us on a fascinating tour of these laws and their influence on natural, technological, and social evolution. Analyzing economic growth in Germany, Japan, and the United States in light of technological constraints on capital, labor, and energy, Professor Kümmel upends conventional economic wisdom by showing that the productive power of energy far outweighs its small share of costs, while for labor just the opposite is true. Wealth creation by energy conversion is accompanied and limited by polluting emissions that are coupled to entropy production. These facts constitute the Second Law of Economics. They take on unprecedented importance in a world that is facing peak oil, debt-driven economic turmoil, and threats from pollution and climate change. They complement the First Law of Economics: Wealth is allocated on markets, and the legal framework determines the outcome. By applying the First and Second Law we understand the true origins of wealth production, the issues that imperil the goal of sustainable development, and the technological options that are compatible both with this goal and with natural laws. The critical role of energy and entropy in the productive sectors of the economy must be realized if we are to create a road map that avoids a Dark Age of shrinking natural resources, environmental degradation, and increasing social tensions.
Download or read book Thermoeconomics written by John Bryant and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book stems from peer-reviewed work the author has published in energy and scientific journals, and follow-up working papers produced on the many links between economics, energy and thermodynamics. Topics covered in this third edition of the book include the gas laws, the distribution of income, the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics applied to economics, economic processes and elasticity, entropy and utility, production processes, empirical monetary and employment analysis of the UK and USA economies up to 2011, interest rates, investment and discounted cash flow, bond yield and spread, unemployment, entropy maximization principles, business cycles and reaction kinetics. A chapter is devoted to in-depth analyses of world energy resources and climate change as factors that will impact on economic output. The book finishes with a discussion of the future sustainability of the economic system commensurate with prevailing constraints. The book is aimed at the professional/scholarly and further/higher education economics and science markets
Download or read book More Heat Than Light written by Philip Mirowski and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1991-11-29 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of the energy concept in Western physics and its subsequent effect on the emergence of neoclassical economics are traced to reveal how economics has sought to emulate physics, especially with regard to the theory of value.
Download or read book The Economic Growth Engine written by Robert U. Ayres and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It gives me great pleasure to review this important book. I recommend it highly to any physicist with an interest or curiosity about this economy thing within which we operate. . . There is no excuse not to get this invaluable volume onto your bookshelf. Simon Roberts, Institute of Physics Energy Group This book addresses a very important topic, namely economic growth analysis from the angle of energy and material flows. The treatment is well balanced in terms of research and interpretation of the broader literature. The book not only contains a variety of empirical indicators, statistical analyses and insights, but also offers an unusually complete and pluralistic view on theorizing about economic growth and technological change. This results in a number of refreshing perspectives on known ideas and literatures. The text is so attractively written that I found it very difficult to stop reading. All in all, this is a very original and important contribution to the everlasting debate on growth versus environment. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, University of Barcelona, Spain and Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Would you want your great-grandchildren in 2100AD to have a 22nd-century industrial economy? If so, read this book to grasp how strongly wealth depends on energy and its efficient use. Start treating fossil energy not as continuing income, but as one-time energy capital to spend on efficiency and long-term sustainable energy production. Otherwise, your descendants will inherit a broken 20th-century economy that only worked with cheap fossil fuels. They will not be rich and they will wonder what their ancestors were thinking. John R. Mashey, PhD, former Chief Scientist, Silicon Graphics Current economic theory attributes most income growth to technical progress. However, since technical progress can neither be defined nor measured, no one really knows what policies will encourage income growth. Ayres and Warr show that access to useful work, which can be defined and measured, explain the bulk of post-1900 income changes in Japan, Britain and the USA. They see rising real prices for fossil fuel and stagnating efficiencies of converting raw energy into useful work as a threat to continued income growth. This brilliant and original work has profound policy implications for future income growth without significant improvements in energy conversion efficiency. Thomas Casten, Chairman, Recycled Energy Development LLC Following the up-and-down energy shock of 2008, Ayres and Warr offer a unique analysis critical to our economic future. They argue that useful work produced by energy and energy services is far more important to overall GDP growth than conventional economic theory assumes. Their new theory, based on extensive empirical and theoretical analysis, has important implications for economists, businessmen and policymakers for anybody concerned with our economic future. Ayres and Warr argue persuasively that economic growth is not only endogenous but has been driven for the past two centuries largely by the declining effective cost of energy. If their new theory is correct, the inevitable future rise of the real cost of energy (beyond the $147 oil price peak in July 2008), could halt economic growth in the US and other advanced countries unless we dramatically improve energy with technology. J. Paul Horne, independent international market economist The historic link between output (GDP) growth and employment has weakened. Since there is no quantitively verifiable economic theory to explain past growth, this unique book explores the fundamental relationship between thermodynamics (physical work) and economics. The authors take a realistic approach to explaining the relationship between technological progress, thermodynamic efficiency and economic growth. Their findings are a step toward the integration of neo-classical and evolutionary perspectives on endogenous economic growth, concluding in a fundam
Download or read book Physical Foundation Of Economics The An Analytical Thermodynamic Theory written by Jing Chen and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2005-09-23 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All human activities, including mental activities, are governed by physical laws and are essentially thermodynamic processes. However, current economic theories are not established on these foundations. This pioneering book seeks to develop an analytical theory of economics on the foundation of thermodynamic laws. A unified understanding of economic and social phenomena is presented, an understanding that is much simpler than what mainstream economic theory has to offer. Its aim is to revolutionize thinking in economics and transform social sciences into an integral part of the physical and biological sciences.
Download or read book Economy Ecology Towards Sustainable Development written by F. Archibugi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a period of relative silence, recent years have been marked by an upswing of interest in environmental issues. The publication of the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development on 'Our Common Future' (1987) has acted as a catalyst for a revival of the environmental awareness, not only regarding local and daily pollution problems, but also -and in particular- regarding global environmental decay and threats to a sustainable development. In a recent study by W.M. Stigliani et al., on 'Future Environments for Europe' (Executive Rep~rt 15, IIASA, Laxenburg, 1989) the environmental implications of various alternative socioeconomic development pathways with respect to eleven environmental issues that could become major problems in the future are analysed. These issues include: Managing water resources in an era of climate change. Acidification of soils and lakes in Europe. Long-term forestry management and the possibility of a future shortfall in wood supply. Areas of Europe marginalized by mainstream economic and agricultural development. Sea level rise. Chemical pollution of coastal waters. Toxic materials buildup and the potential for chemical time bombs. Non-point-source emissions of potentially toxic substances. Transportation growth versus air quality. Decreasing multi-functionally of land owing to urban and suburban land development. Increasing summer demand for electricity, and the impact on air quality.
Download or read book Energy and Economic Myths written by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-05-18 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy and Economic Myths: Institutional and Analytical Economic Essays is a collection of materials that deal with various issues and concerns in economics. The title aims to clarify the misconception in economics. The first part of the text deals with the issues in natural resources and the economics of production. Next, the selection tackles the problems in institutional economics. Part III covers the epistemological and methodological concerns in economics. The title also talks about economic theories. The book will be of great interest to economists and readers who want to enhance their understanding of economic concepts.
Download or read book More Heat than Life The Tangled Roots of Ecology Energy and Economics written by Jeremy Walker and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-14 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the interacting histories of the disciplines of ecology and economics, from their common origin in the ancient Greek concept of oikonomia, through their distinct encounters with energy physics, to the current obstruction of neoliberal economics to responses to the ecological and climate crisis of the so-called Anthropocene. Reconstructing their constitution as separate sciences in the era of fossil-fuelled industrial capitalism, the book offers an explanation of how the ecological sciences have moved from a position of critical collision with mainstream economics in the 1970s, to one of collusion with the project of permanent growth, in and through the thermal crisis of the biosphere.
Download or read book Energy and the Wealth of Nations written by Charles A.S. Hall and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-03-05 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this updated edition of a groundbreaking text, concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our “petroleum economy.” Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, and the interaction of internal limits to growth found in the investment process and rising inequality with the biophysical limits posed by finite energy resources. The authors focus attention on the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the high cost and relatively low EROI of finding and exploiting new oil fields, including the much ballyhooed shale plays and oil sands, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power can meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run society as we know it. For the past 150 years, economics has been treated as a social science in which economies are modeled as a circular flow of income between producers and consumers. In this “perpetual motion” of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, when energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption are likely to constrain economic growth, this exemption should be considered illusory at best. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, empirical, and unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors’ own, on the role of energy in society.
Download or read book Developments in the Design of Thermal Systems written by Robert F. Boehm and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-09-15 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the cost and complexity of designing thermal systems have increased, the need to understand and improve the design process has also grown. This book describes recent progress. The book begins with a brief history and outline of developments in thermal system design. Chapters then discuss computer design tools for the power and chemical industries, predicting physical properties with computational tools, "pinch analysis" to improve thermal efficiency, applications of the energy concept, thermoeconomics, and the potential for artificial intelligence and expert systems in the design of thermal systems. With chapters written by internationally recognized authorities, the book offers a state-of-the-art review for both researchers and practitioners in mechanical, aerospace, chemical, and power engineering.
Download or read book Thermal Physics and Thermal Analysis written by Jaroslav Šesták and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-03-24 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Features twenty-five chapter contributions from an international array of distinguished academics based in Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, and the USA. This multi-author contributed volume provides an up-to-date and authoritative overview of cutting-edge themes involving the thermal analysis, applied solid-state physics, micro- and nano-crystallinity of selected solids and their macro- and microscopic thermal properties. Distinctive chapters featured in the book include, among others, calorimetry time scales from days to microseconds, glass transition phenomena, kinetics of non-isothermal processes, thermal inertia and temperature gradients, thermodynamics of nanomaterials, self-organization, significance of temperature and entropy. Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers working in the field of thermal analysis, thermophysical measurements and calorimetry will find this contributed volume invaluable. This is the third volume of the triptych volumes on thermal behaviour of materials; the previous two receiving thousand of downloads guaranteeing their worldwide impact.
Download or read book Economics Entropy and the Environment written by Thomas Randolph Beard and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers a critical review of the work of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen in conventional economics, environmental economics, and methodology. Presents a brief biographical sketch, then reviews his methodology and evaluates his contributions to the field. Particular attention is paid to the role of thermodynamics in his economics, with an economist's primer on thermodynamics and description of the role thermodynamics plays in his work. A final chapter describes bioeconomics as a way to integrate many of his views. Beard teaches economics at Auburn University. Lozada teaches economics at the University of Utah. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book Econodynamics written by Vladimir N. Pokrovskii and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book the theory of social production is systematically formulated in terms and concepts of classical political economy and neo-classical economics. In this way the subject becomes accessible not only to professional researchers in areas of the theory of production and economic growth, but also to the educated reader who is curious about the principles behind the functioning of a national economy. The book can be considered as an introduction for students with a background in physics, chemistry and engineering, who wish to specialize in economics. It is explained how the growth of production is connected with achievements in technological consumption of labour and energy. The theory allows one to analyse the past and the present of the social production system and to build scripts of the future progress. The book could be interesting for energy specialists who are engaged in planning and analysing production and consumption of energy carriers and determining energy policy, and for economists who want to know how energy and technology are affecting economic growth.
Download or read book Econophysics and Physical Economics written by Peter Richmond and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book summarises progress in the understanding of financial markets and economics based on the established methodology of statistical physics. It offers a new approach to the fundamentals of economics that offers the potential for increased insight and understanding. It should be of interest to all serious students of the subject.
