This note is based upon a talk given at a celebration in Austin Texas of the
achievements of J. Willard Gibbs.
J. Willard Gibbs, the younger, was the first American physical sciences
theorist. He was one of the inventors of statistical physics. He introduced and
developed the concepts of phase space, phase transitions, and thermodynamic
surfaces in a remarkably correct and elegant manner. These three concepts form
the basis of different areas of physics. The connection among these areas has
been a subject of deep reflection from Gibbs' time to our own. This talk
therefore tries to celebrate Gibbs by talking about modern ideas about how
different parts of physics fit together.
At the end of the talk, I shall get to a more personal note. Our own J.
Willard Gibbs had all his achievements concentrated in science. His father,
also J. Willard Gibbs, also a Professor at Yale, had one great achievement that
remains unmatched in our day. I shall describe it.Comment: This work was originally given as a talk in 2003 in Austin, Texas. It
has now been updated in a manner aimed at publicatio
