Energy conversion and fluctuations

Topics include heat transfer by convection and radiation, with applications to climate (clouds, urban heat islands, storms) and to thermal devices (Rankine cycles, thermoelectrics). Heat engines and pumps are studied both macroscopically and through stochastic thermodynamics: rare events, probabilistic heat-work conversion, and fluctuation theorems (Gallavotti–Cohen, Jarzynski–Crooks) applied to mesoscopic machines. This statistical approach is tailored to energy applications.