Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics : an integrated approach / Robert J. Hardy and Christian Binek, Department of Physics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA.

Author
Hardy, Robert J., 1935- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Chichester, West Sussex : John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2014.
Description
xiv, 518 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Harold P. Furth Plasma Physics Library - Stacks QC311 .H3273 2014 Browse related items Request

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    Summary note
    This textbook brings together the fundamentals of the macroscopic and microscopic aspects of thermal physics by presenting thermodynamics and statistical mechanics as complementary theories based on small numbers of postulates. The book is designed to give the instructor flexibility in structuring courses for advanced undergraduates and/or beginning graduate students and is written on the principle that a good text should also be a good reference. The presentation of thermodynamics follows the logic of Clausius and Kelvin while relating the concepts involved to familiar phenomena and the modern student's knowledge of the atomic nature of matter. Another unique aspect of the book is the treatment of the mathematics involved. The essential mathematical concepts are briefly reviewed before using them, and the similarity of the mathematics to that employed in other fields of physics is emphasized. The text gives in depth treatments of low density gases, harmonic solids, magnetic and dielectric materials, phase transitions, and the concept of entropy. The microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical ensembles of statistical mechanics are derived and used as the starting point for the analysis of fluctuations, blackbody radiation, the Maxwell distribution, Fermi-Dirac statistics, Bose-Einstein condensation, and the statistical basis of computer simulations.
    Notes
    Includes index.
    Contents
    • First law of thermodynamics
    • Properties and partial derivatives
    • Processes in gases
    • Phase transitions
    • Reversible and irreversible processes
    • The second law and carnot cycles
    • Temperature scales and absolute zero
    • State space and differentials
    • Entropy
    • Consequences of existence of entropy
    • Thermodynamic potentials
    • Phase transitions and open systems
    • Dielectric and magnetic systems
    • Molecular models
    • Kinetic theory of gases
    • Microscopic significance of entropy
    • Ensembles
    • Partition function
    • Quantum systems
    • Independent particles and paramagnetism
    • Fluctuations and energy distributions
    • Generalizations and diatomic gasesi
    • Photons and phonons
    • Grand canonical ensemble
    • Fermions and bosons
    • Fermi and bose gases
    • Inter-particle interactions
    • Computer simulations.
    ISBN
    • 9781118501016 ((cloth))
    • 1118501012 ((cloth))
    • 9781118501009 ((pbk.))
    • 1118501004 ((pbk.))
    LCCN
    2013039738
    OCLC
    878664233
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