title: Many faces of entropy or Bayesian statistical mechanics.
abstract: Some 80-90 years ago, George A. Linhart, unlike A. Einstein, P. Debye, M. Planck and W. Nernst, managed to derive a very simple, but ultimately general mathematical formula for heat capacity versus temperature from fundamental thermodynamic principles, using what we would nowadays dub a "Bayesian approach to probability". Moreover, he successfully applied his result to fit the experimental data for diverse substances in their solid state over a rather broad temperature range. Nevertheless, Linhart's work was undeservedly forgotten, although it represents a valid and fresh standpoint on thermodynamics and statistical physics, which may have a significant implication for academic and applied science.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Science and Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, Dresden University of Technology, 01062 Dresden, Germany. starikow@chemie.fu-berlin.de
authors.forename: Evgeni B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Starikov
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D019277:Entropy; D012044:Regression Analysis