The
history of thermodynamics is a fundamental strand in the
history of physics, the
history of chemistry, and the
history of science in general. Owing to the relevance of
thermodynamics in much of
science and
technology, its history is finely woven with the developments of
classical mechanics,
quantum mechanics,
magnetism, and
chemical kinetics, to more distant applied fields such as
meteorology,
information theory, and
biology (
physiology), and to
technological developments such as the
steam engine,
internal combustion engine,
cryogenics and
electricity generation. The development of thermodynamics both drove and was driven by
atomic theory. It also, albeit in a subtle manner, motivated new directions in
probability and
statistics; see, for example, the
timeline of thermodynamics.