On the cross-fertilization of the foundations of thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and relativity theory

Mini-symposia M3 – Foundation, theories, and philosophy of thermodynamicsInternational audienceThermodynamics proposes very general principles; the question then arises as to its links with the other major fields of physics that are the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Is it upstream? Can it be derived from them? Our conviction is that the concepts of physics, including space and time, are a way of naming comparisons between phenomena, within a relational approach. Each field of physics results from a particular perspective on reality, and does not reflect the particular functioning, on its own, of a limited segment of that reality. The question then is not to try to link supposedly achieved mathematical corpuses corresponding to each of these fields, but, by returning to the study of "raw" phenomena, to find, within the different fields, the qualities still hidden and already perceived in the others. In this spirit, we will discuss several concepts (each one is brought rather by one field) such as: time, space, movement, locality / non-locality, conservation / evolution, reversibility / irreversibility, scale, quantization (discretization), probability, opening / closing of systems, qualification of physical quantities by quadrivectors, Lorentz invariance, etc. We will show the cross contributions between thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and relativity theory, leading to a shift in concepts, and suggesting new avenues of research at the crossroads of the three fields. On this occasion, we will take a look at other ways of understanding thermodynamics by other authors (Bejan, Ben-Naim, Mariano, Muschik).Participation to the Mini-symposium “Foundation, theories and philosophy of thermodynamics” (Peter Van).