Original Illustration by : Sonia Jerrems

S = Entropy - the macroscopic measure of a system's disorder, or the amount of energy unavailable to do work (thermodynamic entropy)

K = Boltzmann's constant - a fundamental physical constant that connects temperature to energy

W = number of microstates - the number of distinct microscopic configurations (arrangements of atoms/ molecules) that result in the same macroscopic state (temperature, pressure, volume)

Ludwig Boltzmann's (1844 - 1906) pioneering contributions to statistical mechanics laid the groundwork for modern physics and chemistry. Thanks to him, the connection between the microscopic world of atoms and molecules and the macroscopic world we experience (temperature, pressure, heat, entropy) has a logical basis. His transformative contribution to science accompanies researchers today to push boundaries we perceive in reality.

Boltzmann deserved the benefit of doubt for his defence of atomic-molecular theory. We may never know, what other profound discoveries remain unexplored due to him taking his own life. I guess, choosing empathy was hard for his contemporaries when judgement was easier.

The pioneer of statistical mechanics was a deeply sensitive man fighting crushing depression, professional isolation, and a philosophical argument over the very existence of atoms. He was ahead of his time with one of the deepest insights in all of science.

He played piano and loved music deeply, enjoying Beethoven and Wagner. He adored nature, took long mountain walks, saw the sublime in a forest as clearly as in an equation.

Boltzmann's scientific depression was philosophical. He glimpsed the heat death of the universe; time and our existence as a temporary fluctuation in a meaningless cosmos. His suffering was not a personal failing or a philosopher's melancholy.

In all fairness, what cheap reassurance can we give to a human who saw the final state of perfect disorder?

In the end, he was a brilliant, wounded human who deserves unconditional respect with an understanding that behind every law of thermodynamics was a man who felt deep psychological trauma.