400 pages 10x7 inches
Aug 2002 Hardcover
ISBN 1-58949-006-1
US$74

 
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This book is a multi-purpose and "user-friendly" textbook covering both fundamentals (in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics) and numerous applications. The emphasis is on simple derivations of simple results which can be compared with experimental data. The first half of the book covers basic thermodynamics, statistical ensembles, Boltzmann and quantum statistics; and the second half covers magnetism, electrostatic interactions (solutions and plasmas), non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, polymers, superfluidity, renormalization theory, and other specialized topics. This book, while serving well as a reference book for research scientists, is especially suitable as a textbook for a one-year statistical mechanics course for undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, and material sciences. Alternatively, the first 5 chapters of the book can be used as the textbook for an undergraduate one-semester combined thermodynamics/statistical mechanics course (or statistical thermodynamics). 

 

 Preface

Ch.1 Fundamentals of Thermodynamics
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Functions of Two Variables
1.3 Zeroth Law and First Law of Thermodynamics
1.4 Atmospheric Pressure at Different Heights
1.5 Entropy and Second Law of Thermodynamics
1.6 Reversible and Irreversible Processes
1.7 Helmholtz and Gibbs Free Energies
1.8 Vapor Pressure of Liquids
1.9 Vapor Pressure of Small Liquid Drops
1.10 Simple Kinetic Theory of Monatomic Gas
1.11 Real Gas and Van der Waals Equation of State
1.12 Euler's Theorem for Homogeneous Functions
1.13 Ideal Gas Mixtures and Chemical Potential
1.14 Chemical Equilibrium
1.15 Compressibility and Thermal Expansion Coefficients
1.16 PROBLEMS

Ch.2 Statistical Ensembles
2.1 Binomial Coefficients
2.2 Gaussian Distribution Functions
2.3 Method of Lagrange Multipliers
2.4 Canonical Ensemble
2.5 Fluctuations in Canonical Ensemble
2.6 Microcanonical Ensemble
2.7 Third Law of Thermodynamics
2.8 Vibration and Rotation in Diatomic Gases
2.9 Quantum Oscillator
2.10 Rotations of Diatomic Molecules
2.11 Ortho- and Para-Hydrogen
2.12 Chemical Potential and Chemical Equilibrium
2.13 Momentum Distribution in Ideal Gases
2.14 Equation of Continuity in Fluids
2.15 Phase Space and Liouville Equation
2.16 Grand Canonical Ensemble
2.17 Surface Adsorption 
2.18 PROBLEMS

Ch.3 Quantum Statistics
3.1 Fermi-Dirac Statistics
3.2 Bose-Einstein Statistics
3.3 Validity of Boltzmann Distribution
3.4 Partition Functions in Quantum Statistics
3.5 Planck's Law of Radiation
3.6 Debye Heat Capacity of Solids
3.7 Atomic Vibrations in Solids
3.8 Normal Phase of Bose Gas
3.9 Bose Condensation
3.10 Dense Fermi Gas at Zero Temperature
3.11 Dense Fermi Gas at Finite Temperature
3.12 White Dwarf Stars as Fermi Gas
3.13 PROBLEMS

Ch.4 Real Gases & Liquids
4.1 Corrections to Ideal Gas Law
4.2 Radial Distribution Function
4.3 Convolution Integral
4.4 Structures of Liquids and Solids
4.5 Fourier Series and Fourier Transform
4.6 Laplace Transform
4.7 Experimental Methods for Radial Distribution Function
4.8 Perturbation Theory for Gases and Liquids
4.9 Osmotic Pressure of Solutions
4.10 Boiling Point and Freezing Point of Solutions
4.11 Gradient Operator
4.12 Poisson Equation in Electrostatics
4.13 Solutions of Strong Electrolytes
4.14 PROBLEMS

 Ch.5 Magnetism
5.1 Magnetic Ions and Paramagnetism
5.2 Exchange Interaction
5.3 Ferromagnetism
5.4 Antiferromagnetism and Ferrimagnetism
5.5 Magnons and Spin Waves
5.6 Antiferromagnetic Magnons
5.7 Paramagnetism in Metals
5.8 Ferromagnetism in Metals
5.9 Ising Ferromagnet
5.10 Ising Model of Binary Alloys
5.11 Matrices
5.12 Exact Solution of Ising Chain
5.13 PROBLEMS

Ch.6 Dynamics
6.1 Mean Free Path and Transport Properties
6.2 Fluid Dynamics
6.3 Brownian Motion
6.4 Time Correlation Function
6.5 Wiener-Khinchin Theorem
6.6 Reversible and Irreversible Processes
6.7 Inelastic Neutron Scattering
6.8 Photon Correlation Spectroscopy
6.9 Linear Response Theory
6.10 Dielectric Relaxation
6.11 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
6.12 First and Second Order Phase Transitions
6.13 NMR Study of Ferroelectrics
6.14 Atomic Diffusion in Solids
6.15 Melting of Solids
6.16 PROBLEMS

Ch.7 Polymers & Liquid Crystals
7.1 Mathematics of Random Walk
7.2 Polymer Chains
7.3 Elasticity of Polymer Chains
7.4 Rubber Elasticity
7.5 Light Scattering
7.6 Polymer Chains under Compression
7.7 Polymer Solutions
7.8 Polyelectrolytes in Water
7.9 Biopolymers
7.10 Helix-Coil Transitions in Biopolymers
7.11 Polymer Dynamics
7.12 Liquid Crystals
7.13 PROBLEMS

Ch.8 Critical Phenomena
8.1 Critical Exponents
8.2 Renormalization Group
8.3 PROBLEMS

Ch.9 Superfluids
9.1 Liquid Helium
9.2 Two Fluid Model of Super fluids
9.3 Wave Functions of Liquid Helium-4
9.4 Bose Condensate in Superfluid
9.5 PROBLEMS

Ch.10 Chaos & Nonlinear Systems
10.1 Bifurcation and Phase Transition
10.2 Population Analysis
10.3 Nonlinear Differential Equations
10.4 Nonlinear Diffusion Equations
10.5 Phase Trajectories
10.6 Instability in Heat Convection
10.7 Lorenz Equation and Strange Attractor
10.8 Soliton Waves
10.9 Plasma Waves and KdV Equation
10.10 Nonlinear Schrodinger Wave Equation
10.11 Proton Structure
10.12 PROBLEMS

Notation and System Units
 References
 Index


 

Tung Tsang, a PhD from University of Chicago (1960), is a Professor of Physics at the Dept of Physics, Howard University. Before becoming a professor at Howard in 1969, Dr Tsang worked at Honeywell Inc., Argonne National laboratory, National Bureau of Standards/National Inst of Standards and Technology. He has been teaching Statistical Mechanics and other courses for many years. Dr Tsang has published over 100 scientific research articles in statistical mechanics, magnetic resonance and solid state physics. Dr. Tang has also published a textbook Classical Electrodynamics (1987) at graduate level.