New Thermodynamic Theory Will Help Engineers 'Go With The Flow'
A scientific paper that provides tools based on a new principle of thermodynamics, called "Constructal Law," may enable the designers of automobiles, jet planes, air conditioners and other devices to take a more scientific approach to a development process now based on trial and error.
Basically, Constructal Law provides such designers a method to minimize the resistance of flow throughout a system -- whether ocean currents or an air conditioner -- in an integrated way. A key advantage of Constructal Law, said its developers, is that it enables designers to systematically balance flow resistances in a complex system to arrive at the most efficient design.