I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Thermodynamics, is in fact, Statistical Physics in the Thermodynamic limit, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Classical Mechanics+StatPhys at equilibirum.
Thermodynamics is not a physical theory unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully Statistical model of the laws of Nature made useful by the appropriate approximations in terms of temperature, pressure, chemical potential, and low-range interactions.
Many engineers use a modified version of the Statistical Physics every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of StatPhys which is widely used today is often called "Thermodynamics", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the Statistical Physical system, developed by Ludwig Boltzmann in the 19th century.
There really is a Thermodynamics, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the greater theory they use.
Thermodynamics is the computational tool: the laws in the theory that derive the useful macroscopic properties in the system you are using.
The macroscopic laws are an essential part of a physical theory, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete sets of First Principles explaining the microscopic interactions. Thermodynamics is normally used in combination with the Statistical Physics model with appropriate hypothesis: the whole system is basically Statistical Physics in the Thermodynamic limit, or Statistical Physics/Thermodynamic. All the so-called "Thermodynamics" laws are really laws of Statistical Physics/Thermodynamics.
Thermodynamics is not a physical theory unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully Statistical model of the laws of Nature made useful by the appropriate approximations in terms of temperature, pressure, chemical potential, and low-range interactions.
Many engineers use a modified version of the Statistical Physics every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of StatPhys which is widely used today is often called "Thermodynamics", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the Statistical Physical system, developed by Ludwig Boltzmann in the 19th century.
There really is a Thermodynamics, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the greater theory they use.
Thermodynamics is the computational tool: the laws in the theory that derive the useful macroscopic properties in the system you are using.
The macroscopic laws are an essential part of a physical theory, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete sets of First Principles explaining the microscopic interactions. Thermodynamics is normally used in combination with the Statistical Physics model with appropriate hypothesis: the whole system is basically Statistical Physics in the Thermodynamic limit, or Statistical Physics/Thermodynamic. All the so-called "Thermodynamics" laws are really laws of Statistical Physics/Thermodynamics.
