Thermodynamics as a Resource Theory:
Foundational and Philosophical Implications
Interdisciplinary workshop of the resource-theoretic revolution in thermodynamics
June 20-22, 2018, The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario).
Recently, there has been a shift in the way that many physicists are approaching the science of thermodynamics. Instead of regarding its laws as purely physical laws, researchers are increasingly treating the theory as a theory about how agents, such as ourselves, can use information about a physical system as a resource for extracting useful work from the system. Seen this way, investigations into the thermodynamics of quantum systems have a deep connection with work in Quantum Information Theory.
This interdisciplinary workshop brings together philosophers and physicists to explore the philosophical and foundational implications of the resource-theoretic turn in thermodynamics.
Continue reading
