Introduction To Statistical Mechanics

Suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of physics, this uniquely comprehensive overview provides a rigorous, integrated treatment of physical principles and techniques related to gases, liquids, solids, and their phase transitions. 1975 edition.

A self-contained, mathematical introduction to the driving ideas in equilibrium statistical mechanics, studying important models in detail.

This book is an introductory textbook to statistical mechanics that carefully develops new concepts and ideas from basic assumptions and established results. Written for university students in physics and engineering, the prerequisites are mathematics courses on analysis and linear algebra, as well as physics courses on classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics. The first two chapters cover basic probability theory, Markov processes, and classical mechanics. The next three chapters cover ensemble theory with applications to spin systems, lattice vibrations, and black-body radiation. This is followed by a chapter devoted to quantum statistical mechanics and the derivation of the Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distribution functions. The theory is applied to understand the fascinating white dwarfs, semiconductors, and the quark-gluon plasma. The book is equipped with an appendix that covers useful mathematical material. Each chapter contains a number of exercises that are helpful in understanding the concepts.

This text presents statistical mechanics and thermodynamics as a theoretically integrated field of study. It stresses deep coverage of fundamentals, providing a natural foundation for advanced topics. The large problem sets (with solutions for teachers) include many computational problems to advance student understanding.

This concise introduction is geared toward those concerned with solid state or low temperature physics. It presents the principles with simplicity and clarity, reviewing issues of critical interest. 1963 edition.

This textbook facilitates students’ ability to apply fundamental principles and concepts in classical thermodynamics to solve challenging problems relevant to industry and everyday life. It also introduces the reader to the fundamentals of statistical mechanics, including understanding how the microscopic properties of atoms and molecules, and their associated intermolecular interactions, can be accounted for to calculate various average properties of macroscopic systems. The author emphasizes application of the fundamental principles outlined above to the calculation of a variety of thermodynamic properties, to the estimation of conversion efficiencies for work production by heat interactions, and to the solution of practical thermodynamic problems related to the behavior of non-ideal pure fluids and fluid mixtures, including phase equilibria and chemical reaction equilibria. The book contains detailed solutions to many challenging sample problems in classical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics that will help the reader crystallize the material taught. Class-tested and perfected over 30 years of use by nine-time Best Teaching Award recipient Professor Daniel Blankschtein of the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT, the book is ideal for students of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and Materials Science, who will benefit greatly from in-depth discussions and pedagogical explanations of key concepts. Distills critical concepts, methods, and applications from leading full-length textbooks, along with the author’s own deep understanding of the material taught, into a concise yet rigorous graduate and advanced undergraduate text; Enriches the standard curriculum with succinct, problem-based learning strategies derived from the content of 50 lectures given over the years in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT; Reinforces concepts covered with detailed solutions to illuminating and challenging homework problems.

This work explains the ideas and techniques of statistical mechanics - the theory of condensed matter - in a simple and progressive way.

Discusses the basic law of statistical physics and their applications to a range of interesting problems. In this title, the basic principles of equilibrium statistical mechanics are clearly formulated and applied to specific examples of ideal gases and interacting systems to bring out their strength and scope.