Zhigang Suo
@zhigangsuo
Professor at Harvard University
I'll be teaching thermodynamics this fall. Students are mostly junior-year concentrators in engineering and applied sciences. I will be grateful to hear about your ideas. Here are my class notes. docs.google.com/document/d/10V…
A new figure caption—A crack grows in a polymer network by coevolving a zone of irreversible process of strand slip and scission, two layers of scars, and a background of reversible process of elasticity.
Another piece of artwork @ZheqiChen: a crack growing in a polymer network. Note the three zones: Irreversible process of snapping and slipping of strands Scars Reversible process of elasticity
AASF issued a strong statement of support for the letter led by AASF Fellows Steven Allan Kivelson & Peter F. Michelson of Stanford. The letter cautioned against reinstatement of the discredited China Initiative through FY26 CJS Appropriations Bill: aasforum.org/2025/07/23/aas…
The flag of the United States of America is flown on this pole 24 hours a day By act of the Congress of the United States of America 1965
Only a few hard science concepts are essential beyond reading writing and math : conservation of energy and its transformations (this is thermodynamics), mass and how it transforms (chemistry, matter), and forces and fields—how things interact. That’s the core physics literacy.
Even today thermodynamics is taught to students in many fields of science and engineering.
I have a dream that one day thermodynamics, like calculus, will be taught to sons and daughters of many people. 😀 docs.google.com/document/d/1Ix…
Scientists gossip about scandalous behavior of electrons and photons, and affairs between molecules.
We study Shakespeare to understand humans. We study thermodynamics to understand the world that humans live in.
We study Shakespeare to understand humans. We study thermodynamics to understand the world that humans live in.
I have a dream that one day thermodynamics, like calculus, will be taught to sons and daughters of many people. 😀 docs.google.com/document/d/1Ix…
Thank you @dp270 for this important reminder.
One thing that I wish could be better in traditional engineering teaching is telling student how the material is used in real world. I didn't fully appreciate how thermodynamics worked in real world until I did a summer internship in a jet turbine manufacturer.
Real-world applications require backgrounds. They are difficult to include in a college course because time is so limited. In the course, I try to include some applications, and try to make them real to students. docs.google.com/document/d/1Ix…
I am looking for a PhD scientist to work together @SanaHeal. Will work on products based on our bioadhesive technology platform internally & with large publicly traded company partnered on diverse medical devices. Our office/lab is in Boston & competitive salary & compensation
Friction matters to shoelace knots, but not to topology.
Sometimes maths explains the world around us. But now and then it decides to go off into its own version of reality. For example, we can all tell one knot from another, can't we? Can't we? Sergio?
We live in the Age of Molecules and the Age of Data. Molecules generate data. Data describe molecules. Thermodynamics guides us to measure, curate, and use data of a particular type—the number of quantum states in various subsets, as specified by internal variables.
In framing the basic algorithm of thermodynamics, I invoke the concept “subset entropy”. To pick up a recent conversation, how do you name this concept? @RuiHuangUTAus @LCademartiriLab @juanrga @ZacconeAlessio
We live in the Age of Molecules and the Age of Data. Molecules generate data.
God made stiffness, but toughness was made by the devil.
God made solids, but surfaces were the work of the devil! Wolfgang Pauli
A writer appreciates the feedback from a sympathetic and knowledgable reader. I upload a PDF of a chapter to ChatGPT, and ask it to critique one section at a time. Such a perceptive reader! Also, I don't feel bad for not accepting a suggestion.
Following Maxwell, textbooks commonly claim that the zeroth law establishes temperature as a thermodynamic property. This claim is false. See a critique of this claim. docs.google.com/document/d/1Z_…
Thermal systems provide a powerful example for the application of the basic algorithm of thermodynamics. Take a look. docs.google.com/document/d/1Z_…