Modern Thermodynamics For Chemists And Biochemists

Thermodynamics is fundamental to university curricula in chemistry, physics, engineering and many life sciences. It is also notoriously difficult for students to understand, learn and apply. This book explains the fundamental concepts with great clarity, and shows how they can be applied to a variety of chemical and life science contexts.

This book was planned and written with one central goal in mind: to demonstrate that statistical thermodynamics can be used successfully by a broad group of scientists, ranging from chemists through biochemists to biologists, who are not and do not intend to become specialists in statistical thermodynamics. The book is addressed mainly to gradu ate students and research scientists interested in designing experiments the results of which may be interpreted at the molecular level, or in interpreting such experimental results. It is not addressed to those who intend to practice statistical thermodynamics per se. With this goal in mind, I have expended a great deal of effort to make the book clear, readable, and, I hope, enjoyable. This does not necessarily mean that the book as a whole is easy to read. The first four chapters are very detailed. The last four become progressively more difficult to read, for several reasons. First, presuming that the reader has already acquired familiarity with the methods and arguments presented in the first part, I felt that similar arguments could be skipped later on, leaving the details to be filled in by the reader. Second, the systems themselves become progressively more com plicated as we proceed toward the last chapter.

Thermodynamics is fundamental to university and college curricula in chemistry, physics, engineering and many life sciences around the world. It is also notoriously difficult for students to understand, learn and apply. What makes this book different, and special, is the clarity of the text. The writing style is fluid, natural and lucid, and everything is explained in a logical and transparent manner. Thermodynamics is a deep, and important, branch of science, and this book does not make it "easy". But it does make it intelligible. This book introduces a new, 'Fourth Law' of Thermodynamics' based on the notion of Gibbs free energy, which underpins almost every application of thermodynamics and which the authors claim is worthy of recognition as a 'law'. The last four chapters bring thermodynamics into the twenty-first century, dealing with bioenergetics (how living systems capture and use free energy), macromolecule assembly (how proteins fold), and macromolecular aggregation (how, for example, virus capsids assemble). This is of great current relevance to students of biochemistry, biochemical engineering and pharmacy, and is covered in very few other texts on thermodynamics. The book also contains many novel and effective examples, such as the explanation of why friction is irreversible, the proof of the depression of the freezing point, and the explanation of the biochemical standard state.

Thermodynamics of Biochemical Reactions emphasizes the fundamental equations of thermodynamics and the application of these equations to systems of biochemical reactions. This emphasis leads to new thermodynamic potentials that provide criteria for spontaneous change and equilibrium under the conditions in a living cell.

This course-derived undergraduate textbook provides a concise explanation of the key concepts and calculations of chemical thermodynamics. Instead of the usual ‘classical’ introduction, this text adopts a straightforward postulatory approach that introduces thermodynamic potentials such as entropy and energy more directly and transparently. Structured around several features to assist students’ understanding, Chemical Thermodynamics : Develops applications and methods for the ready treatment of equilibria on a sound quantitative basis. Requires minimal background in calculus to understand the text and presents formal derivations to the student in a detailed but understandable way. Offers end-of-chapter problems (and answers) for self-testing and review and reinforcement, of use for self- or group study. This book is suitable as essential reading for courses in a bachelor and master chemistry program and is also valuable as a reference or textbook for students of physics, biochemistry and materials science.

"Modern Thermodynamics- Based on the Extended Carnot Theorem" provides comprehensive definitions and mathematical expressions of both classical and modern thermodynamics. The goal is to develop the fundamental theory on an extended Carnot theorem without incorporating any extraneous assumptions. In particular, it offers a fundamental thermodynamic and calculational methodology for the synthesis of low-pressure diamonds. It also discusses many "abnormal phenomena", such as spiral reactions, cyclic reactions, chemical oscillations, low-pressure carat-size diamond growth, biological systems, and more. The book is intended for chemists and physicists working in thermodynamics, chemical thermodynamics, phase diagrams, biochemistry and complex systems, as well as graduate students in these fields. Jitao Wang is a professor emeritus at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

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.

Thermodynamics is not the oldest of sciences. Mechanics can make that claim. Thermodynamicsisaproductofsomeofthegreatestscienti?cmindsofthe19thand 20th centuries. But it is suf?ciently established that most authors of new textbooks in thermodynamics ?nd it necessary to justify their writing of yet another textbook. I ?nd this an unnecessary exercise because of the centrality of thermodynamics as a science in physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. I do acknowledge, however, that instruction in thermodynamics often leaves the student in a confused state. My attempt in this book is to present thermodynamics in as simple and as uni?ed a form as possible. As teachers we identify the failures of our own teachers and attempt to correct them. Although I personally acknowledge with a deep gratitude the appreciation for thermodynamics that I found as an undergraduate, I also realize that my teachers did not convey to me the sweeping grandeur of thermodynamics. Speci?cally the s- plicity and the power that James Clerk Maxwell found in the methods of Gibbs were not part of my undergraduate experience. Unfortunately some modern authors also seem to miss this central theme, choosing instead to introduce the thermodynamic potentials as only useful functions at various points in the development.