Preface
The concepts of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are fundamental physical
concepts that underlie much of chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science,
and physics. Thermodynamics treats matter as a continuum and is therefore not
concerned with the atomic or molecular nature of its constituents, while statistical
mechanics is concerned with the effective ways to deal with very large numbers
of constituents (atoms or molecules) using statistical concepts, such as probability,
averages, and fluctuations, coupled with the fundamental laws of physics that govern
individual atoms and molecules and their interactions at the microscopic level.
Statistical thermodynamics combines these two subdisciplines of science in order
to be able to understand and predict macroscopic properties of specific material
systems in terms of the attributes of their microscopic constituents.
While the present book does focus mainly upon the employment of statistical
mechanical concepts and methodology to evaluate and interpret thermodynamic
properties in terms of atomic and/or molecular attributes of the bulk matter
constituents, it also examines a number of other topics, such as symmetry effects in
molecular spectra (in Chap. 6), an introduction to transport phenomena (in Chap. 7),
paramagnetism, magnetic susceptibilities of lanthanides, and an introduction to
ferromagnetism (in Chap. 8), and electrons in metals and semiconductors, and the
Bose–Einstein condensation (in Chap. 10).
The structure of this book is as follows:
Basic background material, including equations of state for classical and quantum ideal gases and concepts derived from mathematical statistics, such as ensembles, fluctuations, statistical average, variance, and standard deviation, is reviewed
in Chap. 1.
Chapter 2 provides a short treatment of macroscopic thermodynamics. For those
who have taken a previous course on thermodynamics, it may serve as a reminder of
those aspects of thermodynamics (including a discussion of thermodynamic engine
cycles that may be more relevant for engineers) that will be needed in later chapters.
For those who have not had previous exposure to thermodynamics, it will serve to
introduce the relevant thermodynamic concepts.
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The concepts of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are fundamental physical
concepts that underlie much of chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science,
and physics. Thermodynamics treats matter as a continuum and is therefore not
concerned with the atomic or molecular nature of its constituents, while statistical
mechanics is concerned with the effective ways to deal with very large numbers
of constituents (atoms or molecules) using statistical concepts, such as probability,
averages, and fluctuations, coupled with the fundamental laws of physics that govern
individual atoms and molecules and their interactions at the microscopic level.
Statistical thermodynamics combines these two subdisciplines of science in order
to be able to understand and predict macroscopic properties of specific material
systems in terms of the attributes of their microscopic constituents.
While the present book does focus mainly upon the employment of statistical
mechanical concepts and methodology to evaluate and interpret thermodynamic
properties in terms of atomic and/or molecular attributes of the bulk matter
constituents, it also examines a number of other topics, such as symmetry effects in
molecular spectra (in Chap. 6), an introduction to transport phenomena (in Chap. 7),
paramagnetism, magnetic susceptibilities of lanthanides, and an introduction to
ferromagnetism (in Chap. 8), and electrons in metals and semiconductors, and the
Bose–Einstein condensation (in Chap. 10).
The structure of this book is as follows:
Basic background material, including equations of state for classical and quantum ideal gases and concepts derived from mathematical statistics, such as ensembles, fluctuations, statistical average, variance, and standard deviation, is reviewed
in Chap. 1.
Chapter 2 provides a short treatment of macroscopic thermodynamics. For those
who have taken a previous course on thermodynamics, it may serve as a reminder of
those aspects of thermodynamics (including a discussion of thermodynamic engine
cycles that may be more relevant for engineers) that will be needed in later chapters.
For those who have not had previous exposure to thermodynamics, it will serve to
introduce the relevant thermodynamic concepts.
v