Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire - (Dover Books on Physics) by Sadi Carnot (Paperback)

The Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire by Carnot is a groundbreaking book that laid the foundation of modern thermodynamics.

With highly readable statements couched in exact language, this book examines the relation between heat and work done by heat in various engines, including high- and low-pressure steam engines, air-engines, and an internal combustion machine.

Carnot established conditions for economical engine working and invented the closed cycle of operations, while also deriving statements on the impossibility of perpetual motion and the need to avoid irreversible changes.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in thermodynamics and the history of engineering.