Key Developments in Heat Transfer

Ernst Mach (1838-1916), the Austrian physicist and philosopher, was well known for his progressive views on scientific research. He was a true scientist in the sense that he did not accept the views and theories of science unless it was subjected to rigorous empirical verification. His review works on thermometry before and after Newton had great impact on modern science. Mach advanced the concept 

Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906), the Austrian physicist, is famous for his outstanding contributions to heat transfer, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory of gases. Boltzmann was a student of Josef Stefan and received his doctoral degree in 1866 under his supervision. The Stefan-Boltzmann law (1884) for black body radiation is the result of the associated work of Josef Stefan and Boltzmann in the field of heat transfer. Boltzmann s most significant works were in kinetic theory of gases in the form of Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution and Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics in classical statistical mechanics. 

British Engineer Thomas Edward Stanton (1865-1931) worked in the field of fluid flow, friction, and the related heat transfer phenomenon. He had the honor of having the dimensionless Stanton number named after him which is the ratio of actual heat flux to the fluid to the heat flux capacity of the fluid flow. It is equal to 

Ernst Schmidt (1892—1975), the German scientist, is known for his pioneering works in the fields of thermodynamics and heat and mass transfer. Some of his noteworthy contributions to heat and mass transfer were developing the analogy between heat and mass transfer, first measurement of velocity and temperature fields in natural convection boundary layer and heat transfer coefficient in droplet condensation, introduction of aluminum foil radiation shielding, and solution of 

the quest for knowledge of heat transfer continued, and by the early part of the twentieth century, the foundation of heat transfer theory was established with proven laws and principles. With the progress of the twentieth century, those fundamental theories of heat transfer were gradually applied in thermal engineering and other engineering disciplines for the benefits of mankind. 

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