My favourite branch of physics is thermodynamics. I find statistical mechanics to be cool, but it’s really just a means of explaining the phenomenological aspects of thermodynamics for me. The other branches of physics don’t do much for me at all.
As a physics student I realise I’m in the extreme minority. All of the wannabe researchers in my course are far more interested in the more fashionable fields of physics (cosmology, particle physics, condensed matter). Most actively dislike thermodynamics, even those who’re interested in statistical mechanics.
Do physicists in the 21st century still research thermodynamics by itself? Or is thermodynamics pretty much complete?