An interesting aside is that early feedback control theory was developed in the 19th century by James Clerk Maxwell et. al., for the purpose of governing steam engines. I wonder if the interest in steam power also pushed the study of thermodynamics forward.
An interesting aside is that early feedback control theory was developed in the 19th century by James Clerk Maxwell et. al., for the purpose of governing steam engines. I wonder if the interest in steam power also pushed the study of thermodynamics forward.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_theory
Most assuredly. One of the things you learn in thermodynamics is how to analyze heat engine cycles based on measurements of a quantity of fluid.