An Introduction to Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics

Robert H. Swendsen is Professor of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University, where he works primarily in computational statistical mechanics. Professor Swendsen is a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was given an IBM Outstanding Achievement Award in 1981 and shared a Forefronts of Large-Scale Computational Problems Award with S. Kumar, J.M. Rosenberg, and P.A. Kollman in 1991.

• 1: Introduction I Part 1 Entropy 2: Classical Ideal Gas 3: Discrete probability theory 4: Configurational entropy 5: Continuous random numbers 6: Classical ideal gas: Energy 7: Ideal and "real" gases 8: T, P, µ, and all that II Part 2 Thermodynamics 9: Postulates and Laws of thermodynamics 10: Thermodynamic perturbations 11: Thermodynamic processes 12: Thermodynamic potentials 13: Extensivity 14: Thermodynamic identities 15: Extremum principles 16: Stability conditions 17: Phase transitions 18: Nernst postulate III Part 3 Classical statistical mechanics 19: Classical ensembles 20: Classical ensembles: grand and otherwise 21: Irreversibility IV Part 4 Quantum statistical mechanics 22: Quantum ensembles 23: Quantum canoncial ensemble 24: Black-body radiation 25: The harmonic solid 26: Ideal quantum gases 27: Bose-Einstein statistics 28: Fermi-Dirac statistics 29: Insulators and semiconductors 30: The Ising model

Review from previous edition In his innovative new text, Carnegie Mellon University physics professor Robert Swendsen presents the foundations of statistical mechanics with, as he puts it, a detour through thermodynamics. That's a desirable strategy because the statistical approach is more fundamental than the classical thermodynamics approach and has many applications to current research problems. [] The mathematical notation is carefully introduced and useful; the selected mathematical techniques are clearly explained in a conversational style that both graduate and advanced undergraduate students will find easy to follow. The author's subject organization and conceptual viewpoint address some of the shortcomings of conventional developments of thermal physics and will be helpful to students and researchers seeking a deep appreciation of statistical physics.