Kinetic Theory Of Nonideal Gases And Nonideal Plasmas

Kinetic Theory of Nonideal Gases and Nonideal Plasmas presents the fundamental aspects of the kinetic theory of gases and plasmas. The book consists of three parts, which attempts to present some of the ideas, methods and applications in the study of the kinetic processes in nonideal gases and plasmas. The first part focuses on the classical kinetic theory of nonideal gases. The second part discusses the classical kinetic theory of fully ionized plasmas. The last part is devoted to the quantum kinetic theory of nonideal gases and plasmas. A concluding chapter is included, which presents a short account of the kinetic theory of chemically reacting systems and of partially ionized plasmas, in order to espouse further studies in the field. Physicists, scientific researchers, professors, and graduate students in various fields will find the text of good use.

Kinetic theory is the link between the non--equilibrium statistical mechanics of many particle systems and macroscopic or phenomenological physics. Therefore much attention is paid in this book both to the derivation of kinetic equations with their limitations and generalizations on the one hand, and to the use of kinetic theory for the description of physical phenomena and the calculation of transport coefficients on the other hand. The book is meant for researchers in the field, graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. At the end of each chapter a section of exercises is added not only for the purpose of providing the reader with the opportunity to test his understanding of the theory and his ability to apply it, but also to complete the chapter with relevant additions and examples that otherwise would have overburdened the main text of the preceding sections. The author is indebted to the physicists who taught him Statistical Mechanics, Kinetic Theory, Plasma Physics and Fluid Mechanics. I gratefully acknowledge the fact that much of the inspiration without which this book would not have been possible, originated from what I learned from several outstanding teachers. In particular I want to mention the late Prof. dr. H. C. Brinkman, who directed my first steps in the field of theoretical plasma physics, my thesis advisor Prof. dr. N. G. Van Kampen and Prof. dr. A. N. Kaufman, whose course on Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics in Berkeley I remember with delight.

The best developed of today's kinetic theories are those for gases and completely ionized plasmas. In recent years, however, kinetic theories of more complicated systems - consisting of free particles as well as those bound in atoms, and an electromagnetic field - have played an increasingly important role. An example of such a system is a partially ionized plasma of gas discharges or in semicon ductors. The main purpose of this book is the further development of the kinetic theory of systems of this kind. Naturally, it would be impossible to encompass at once all the problems con cerning the kinetic theory of these extremely complicated systems. This book is mainly concerned with processes dominated by weak but collective interactions of charged particles and atoms, as well as processes determined by the interaction with an electromagnetic field. These topics determined the method adopted here for constructing the kinetic equations of the distribution functions for free and bound charged particles. The results of contemporary scattering theory make it possible to take strong interactions, which are interpreted as collisions, into account without any basic difficulties. More complicated, however, is the task of taking both strong interactions at small distances and weak but collective interac tions into account simultaneously. The solution of this problem would open an approach to a number of fundamental questions, one of which is the construc tion of a kinetic theory of nonideal chemically reacting systems of charged particles.

The best developed of today's kinetic theories are those for gases and completely ionized plasmas. In recent years, however, kinetic theories of more complicated systems - consisting of free particles as well as those bound in atoms, and an electromagnetic field - have played an increasingly important role. An example of such a system is a partially ionized plasma of gas discharges or in semicon ductors. The main purpose of this book is the further development of the kinetic theory of systems of this kind. Naturally, it would be impossible to encompass at once all the problems con cerning the kinetic theory of these extremely complicated systems. This book is mainly concerned with processes dominated by weak but collective interactions of charged particles and atoms, as well as processes determined by the interaction with an electromagnetic field. These topics determined the method adopted here for constructing the kinetic equations of the distribution functions for free and bound charged particles. The results of contemporary scattering theory make it possible to take strong interactions, which are interpreted as collisions, into account without any basic difficulties. More complicated, however, is the task of taking both strong interactions at small distances and weak but collective interac tions into account simultaneously. The solution of this problem would open an approach to a number of fundamental questions, one of which is the construc tion of a kinetic theory of nonideal chemically reacting systems of charged particles.

The best developed of today's kinetic theories are those for gases and completely ionized plasmas. In recent years, however, kinetic theories of more complicated systems - consisting of free particles as well as those bound in atoms, and an electromagnetic field - have played an increasingly important role. An example of such a system is a partially ionized plasma of gas discharges or in semicon ductors. The main purpose of this book is the further development of the kinetic theory of systems of this kind. Naturally, it would be impossible to encompass at once all the problems con cerning the kinetic theory of these extremely complicated systems. This book is mainly concerned with processes dominated by weak but collective interactions of charged particles and atoms, as well as processes determined by the interaction with an electromagnetic field. These topics determined the method adopted here for constructing the kinetic equations of the distribution functions for free and bound charged particles. The results of contemporary scattering theory make it possible to take strong interactions, which are interpreted as collisions, into account without any basic difficulties. More complicated, however, is the task of taking both strong interactions at small distances and weak but collective interac tions into account simultaneously. The solution of this problem would open an approach to a number of fundamental questions, one of which is the construc tion of a kinetic theory of nonideal chemically reacting systems of charged particles.

The aim of this book is the pedagogical exploration of the basic principles of quantum-statistical thermodynamics as applied to various states of matter – ranging from rare gases to astrophysical matter with high-energy density. The reader will learn in this work that thermodynamics and quantum statistics are still the concepts on which even the most advanced research is operating - despite of a flood of modern concepts, classical entities like temperature, pressure, energy and entropy are shown to remain fundamental. The physics of gases, plasmas and high-energy density matter is still a growing field and even though solids and liquids dominate our daily life, more than 99 percent of the visible Universe is in the state of gases and plasmas and the overwhelming part of matter exists at extreme conditions connected with very large energy densities, such as in the interior of stars. This text, combining material from lectures and advanced seminars given by the authors over many decades, is a must-have introduction and reference for both newcomers and seasoned researchers alike.

analyzing the experimental data and constructing math.ematical models of the processes under study, one has to rely rather on the physical intuition than on the strict calculations. Now let us go one step higher and explain the main title of the book. The concepts of "laminary" and "turbulent" motions were first introduced in hydrodynamics. Since the old days these concepts have considerably broadened; now the laminar and the turbulent motions have been discovered and investigated at all levels of description of nonequilibrium processes in the open systems, from kinetics to reaction diffusion. In any case, one of the principal characteristics of the turbulent motion is the existence of a large number of well-developed macroscopic degrees of freedom. For this reason the turbulent motion is extremely complicated and to a large extent unpredictable. As the laminar and the turbulent flows play an important role in the processes of evolution in the open systems, and in particular, in the processes of self-organization, the need arises for assessing the relative degree of order of laminar and turbulent motions, and also for comparing the degree of order of various turbulent motions. Without being able to make such estimates it will be impossible to determine whether the evolution is going towards higher or towards lower organization when one turbulent state is replaced by another.