Elementary Principles In Statistical Mechanics Developed With Special Reference To The Rational Foundations Of Thermodynamics

First book to unite the works of Clausius, Maxwell, Boltzmann, and the author himself. Gibbs' lucid advanced-level text remains a valuable collection of fundamental equations and principles. 1902 edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1902 Edition.

Written by J. Willard Gibbs, the most distinguished American mathematical physicist of the nineteenth century, this book was the first to bring together and arrange in logical order the works of Clausius, Maxwell, Boltzmann, and Gibbs himself. The lucid, advanced-level text remains a valuable collection of fundamental equations and principles. The chapters include: (1) General Notions - The Principle of Conservation of Extension-in-Phase, (2) Application of the Principle of Conservation of Extension-in-Phase to the Theory of Errors, (3) Application of the Principle of Conservation of Extension-in-Phase to the Integration of the Differential Equations of Motion, (4) On the Distribution-in-Phase Called Canonical in Which the Index of Probability is a Linear Function of the Energy, (5) Average Values in a Canonical Ensemble of Systems, (6) Extension-in-Configuration and Extension-in-Velocity, (7) Farther Discussion of Averages in a Canonical Ensemble of Systems, (8) On Certain Important Functions of the Energies of a System, (9) The Function and the Canonical Distribution, (10) On a Distribution in Phase Called Microcanonical in Which All the Systems Have the Same Energy, (11) Maximum and Minimum Properties of Various Distributions in Phase, (12) On the Motion of Systems and Ensembles of Systems Through Long Periods of Time, (13) Effect of Various Processes on a Ensemble of Systems, (14) Discussion of Thermodynamic Analogies, and (15) Systems Composed of Molecules. It is a pleasure to publish this new, high quality, and affordable edition of this timeless book.

Excerpt from Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics: Developed With Special Reference to the Rational Foundations of Thermodynamics The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely, they express the laws of mechanics for such systems as they appear to beings who have not the fineness of perception to enable them to appreciate quantities of the order of magnitude of those which relate to single particles, and who cannot repeat their experiments often enough to obtain any but the most probable results. The laws of statistical mechanics apply to conservative systems of any number of degrees of freedom. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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