History of Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the study of the relations between heat, work, temperature, and energy. The laws of thermodynamics describe how the energy in a system changes and whether the system can perform useful work on its surroundings.
Some scientists say there are three laws of thermodynamics, others say four. The first three are energy cannot be created or destroyed, for a spontaneous process, the entropy of the universe increases, and the third law, a perfect crystal at zero Kelvin has zero entropy.
There is, however, a fourth law, which says the dissipative component of evolution is in a direction of steepest entropy ascent.
Generally saying, thermodynamics is the branch of physics that studies how heat changes to and from other energy forms.
Many believe Sadi Carnot is the father of thermodynamics, who in 1824 published Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, a discourse on heat, power, and engine efficiency. It marked the start of thermodynamics as a modern science.