TITLE:
Some Thoughts on Logic and Intuition in Science and Chemical Engineering
AUTHORS:
Christo Boyadjiev
KEYWORDS:
Chemical Engineering, Logic, Intuition-Judgment, Intuition-Hunch, Axiom, Theorem
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.1 No.6,
September
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: The role of the logic and intuition in the
chemical engineering is presented. Basic rules of logic in chemical engineering
are used: “Construction of mathematical models of chemical engineering
structures use the general rules (approximations) of the continuous media
mechanics” and “A full correspondence between physical effects and mathematical
operators (in the form of functions and their derivatives) in the mathematical
models”. The basic mathematical operators as gradient, divergence and Laplace
operator are associated with the physical effects in the models. The
intuition-judgments in the chemical engineering are the axioms as “Stokes
postulate for the linear relationship between stress and strain rate”, “linear
relationship between the diffusion flux and the concentration gradient (Fick’s
first law)”, “linear relationship between heat flux and temperature gradient
(Fourier’s first law)”. The intuition-judgments (axioms) of the linear and non-
linear mass transfer theories are presented too.