In this unique book, the reader is invited to experience the joy of appreciating something which has eluded understanding for many years -- entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. The book has a two-pronged message: first, that the second law is not infinitely incomprehensible as commonly stated in most textbooks on thermodynamics, but can, in fact, be comprehended through sheer common sense; and second, that entropy is not a mysterious quantity that has resisted understanding but a simple, familiar and easily comprehensible concept.

Written in an accessible style, the book guides the reader through an abundance of dice games and examples from everyday life. The author paves the way for readers to discover for themselves what entropy is, how it changes, and, most importantly, why it always changes in one direction in a spontaneous process.

In this new edition, seven simulated games are included so that the reader can actually experiment with the games described in the book. These simulated games are meant to enhance the readers understanding and sense of joy upon discovering the second law of thermodynamics.

Contents:Programs for Simulating Some of the Games in the Book; Introduction, and a Short History of the Second Law of Thermodynamics; A Brief Introduction to Probability Theory, Information Theory, and All the Rest; First Let Us Play with Real Dice; Let s Play with Simplified Dice and Have a Preliminary Grasp of the Second Law; Experience the Second Law with All Your Five Senses; Finally, Grasp It with Your Common Sense; Translating from the Dice-World to the Real World; Reflections on the Status of the Second Law of Thermodynamics as a Law of Physics.

貝南(Arieh Ben-Naim) 著

耶路撒冷希伯來大學物理化學教授，瀋浸熱力學領域逾四十年，目前最大的興趣，是把畢生的專業研究心得，寫成通俗的科普書。

王碧 譯

颱灣大學化學係畢業，美國華盛頓大學化學碩士。專長環境化學，曾任行政院環境保護署環境檢驗所所長

牟昀 譯

颱灣大學化學係畢業，美國加州理工學院化學博士班。

牟中原 譯

颱灣大學化學學士，美國華盛頓大學化學博士。專長是理論化學，興趣在科學教育，現任颱大化學係教授，亦為天下文化「科學文化」叢書策畫者之一。