Entropy from Carnot to Bekenstein

TL;DR

This paper traces the historical development of the concept of black hole entropy, highlighting how fundamental thermodynamic principles have led to profound insights in physics from Carnot to Bekenstein.

Contribution

It provides a historical overview of the evolution of entropy concepts, emphasizing the emergence of black hole entropy through thermodynamic reasoning.

Findings

Historical synthesis of entropy development

Insight into black hole entropy origins

Emphasis on thermodynamic reasoning in physics

Abstract

The second half of this essay tells the story of the genesis and early development of the notion of black hole entropy, in the style of an after dinner talk (apart from a long technical footnote). The first half sketches the development of the concept of entropy, beginning with Carnot, passing via Thomson, Clausius, Boltzmann, Planck, von Neumann, and Shannon on the way to Bekenstein, and the essay ends with a retrospective on Lema\^itre. The central theme is the fault-tolerant way that profound insights have emerged from simple (yet subtle) thermodynamic reasoning.