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.

• I ENTROPY; II INTRODUCTION TO THERMODYNAMICS; III CLASSICAL STATISTICAL MECHANICS; IV QUANTUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS

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.