scope of thermodynamics

Thermodynamicsisaspecialtheoryindeed.Aprincipletheory,aphenomenological onemoreover,thatoutgrewitsinitialpurposeofadvancingnineteenthcentury engineeringalmostassoonasitwasborn1.Ceasingtobeameretoolforthe optimisationofsteamenginesandthelike,thermodynamicsinsteadbecameatheory about,well,'almosteverything'.Butthisisnottosaythatthermodynamicscan provideuswiththeanswerstoallscientificquestions,quitethecontrary:traditionally, itfocussesonanarrowrangeofprocesses,singledoutbytheusageoftermssuchas heat,entropyandtemperature.Whatmakesthermodynamicssospecial,whatsets itapartfromotherphysicaltheories,isthecomprehensiveapplicationofitslawsto thoseothertheories.Quantuminformationtheory,quantumfieldtheory,general relativityandevenstringtheory,nottomentionchemistryandbiology-thelaws ofthermodynamicsareubiquitousamongourscientifictheories.