A Concise Introduction To Thermodynamics For Physicists

This introductory textbook provides a synthetic overview of the laws and formal aspects of thermodynamics and was designed for undergraduate students in physics, and in the physical sciences. Language and notation have been kept as simple as possible throughout the text. While this is a self-contained text on thermodynamics (i.e. focused on macroscopic physics), emphasis is placed on the microscopic underlying model to facilitate the understanding of key concepts such as entropy, and motivate a future course on statistical physics. This book will equip the reader with an understanding of the scope of this discipline and of its applications to a variety of physical systems Throughout the text readers are continuously challenged with conceptual questions that prompt reflection and facilitate the understanding of subtle issues. Each chapter ends by presenting worked problems to support and motivate self-study, in addition to a series of proposed exercises whose solutions are available as supplementary material. Features Pedagogically designed, including illustrations, keyword definitions, highlights, summaries of key ideas and concepts, and boxes with additional topics that complement the materials presented in the main text. Presents active reading strategies, such as conceptual problems, discussion questions, worked examples with comments, end of chapter problems, and further reading to stimulate engagement with the text. Guides the reader with ease through a difficult subject by providing extra help whenever needed to overcome the more demanding technical and conceptual aspects. Solutions Manual available upon qualifying course adoption.

Statistical physics and thermodynamics describe the behaviour of systems on the macroscopic scale. Their methods are applicable to a wide range of phenomena, from neutron stars to heat engines, or from chemical reactions to phase transitions. The pertinent laws are among the most universal ones of all laws of physics.

This book is an introduction to statistical mechanics, intended for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students.

Thermodynamics is the science that describes the behavior of matter at the macroscopic scale, and how this arises from individual molecules. As such, it is a subject of profound practical and fundamental importance to many science and engineering fields. Despite extremely varied applications ranging from nanomotors to cosmology, the core concepts of thermodynamics such as equilibrium and entropy are the same across all disciplines. A Conceptual Guide to Thermodynamics serves as a concise, conceptual and practical supplement to the major thermodynamics textbooks used in various fields. Presenting clear explanations of the core concepts, the book aims to improve fundamental understanding of the material, as well as homework and exam performance. Distinctive features include: Terminology and Notation Key: A universal translator that addresses the myriad of conventions, terminologies, and notations found across the major thermodynamics texts. Content Maps: Specific references to each major thermodynamic text by section and page number for each new concept that is introduced. Helpful Hints and Don’t Try Its: Numerous useful tips for solving problems, as well as warnings of common student pitfalls. Unique Explanations: Conceptually clear, mathematically fairly simple, yet also sufficiently precise and rigorous. A more extensive set of reference materials, including older and newer editions of the major textbooks, as well as a number of less commonly used titles, is available online at http://www.conceptualthermo.com. Undergraduate and graduate students of chemistry, physics, engineering, geosciences and biological sciences will benefit from this book, as will students preparing for graduate school entrance exams and MCATs.

Concise, detailed, and transparently structured, this upper-level undergraduate textbook is an excellent resource for a one-semester course on thermodynamics for students majoring in physics, chemistry, or materials science. Throughout the seven chapters and three-part appendix, students benefit from numerous practical examples and solved problems ranging in broad scope from cosmic to molecular evolution; cloud formation to rubber elasticity; and Carnot engines to Monte Carlo simulation of phase equilibria. Lauded in Physics Today as “a valuable resource for students and faculty”, Hentschke’s Thermodynamics presents in this long-anticipated second edition new and extended coverage of a range of topical material, such as thermodynamics of the universe and atmospheric thermodynamics, while also featuring a more application-oriented treatment of surfaces, interfaces, and polymers. Touching on subjects throughout soft-matter physics, superconductors, and complex fluids, this textbook delivers the foundation and breadth of scope necessary to prepare undergraduate students for further study in this timeless yet ever-changing field.

In this clear and concise introduction to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics the reader, who will have some previous exposure to thermodynamics, will be guided through each of the two disciplines separately initially to provide an in-depth understanding of the area and thereafter the connection between the two is presented and discussed. In addition, mathematical techniques are introduced at appropriate times, highlighting such use as: exact and inexact differentials, partial derivatives, Caratheodory's theorem, Legendre transformation, and combinatory analysis. * Emphasis is placed equally on fundamentals and applications * Several problems are included

This book provides an introduction to the emerging field of quantum thermodynamics, with particular focus on its relation to quantum information and its implications for quantum computers and next generation quantum technologies. The text, aimed at graduate level physics students with a working knowledge of quantum mechanics and statistical physics, provides a brief overview of the development of classical thermodynamics and its quantum formulation in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 then explores typical thermodynamic settings, such as cycles and work extraction protocols, when the working material is genuinely quantum. Finally, Chapter 3 explores the thermodynamics of quantum information processing and introduces the reader to some more state of-the-art topics in this exciting and rapidly developing research field.