Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (McGraw-Hill Series in Fundamentals of Physics) [Hardcover]

Frederick Reif (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070518009 | ISBN-13: 978-0070518001 | Publication Date: June 1, 1965 | Edition: 1

This book is designed for the junior-senior thermodynamics course given in all departments as a standard part of the curriculum. The book is devoted to a discussion of some of the basic physical concepts and methods useful in the description of situations involving systems which consist of very many particulars. It attempts, in particular, to introduce the reader to the disciplines of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory from a unified and modern point of view. The presentation emphasizes the essential unity of the subject matter and develops physical insight by stressing the microscopic content of the theory.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"This is a wonderful textbook that is pedagogically sound and provides a gentle introduction to statistical reasoning in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. The introduction of the microscopic approach to appreciate thermodynamics is noteworthy. The textbook will adequately serve both undergraduates and beginning graduate students." -- Dilip Asthagiri, Johns Hopkins University --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 651 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 1 edition (June 1, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070518009
• ISBN-13: 978-0070518001
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll love stat mech after reading this text, November 25, 1999

By 

"jackaroe" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (McGraw-Hill Series in Fundamentals of Physics) (Hardcover)

My first exposure to stat mech was through Callen's book "Thermodynamics and Thermostatistics" in my junior year of college. I hated the book, and decided right then that I never ever wanted to become involved with condensed matter physics. However, I needed to know stat mech for my grad school qualifying exams, and not wanting to go back to Callen, I picked up Reif's book, following a professor's recommendation. What a difference. The clarity of presentation in this book is matched only by Landau's texts. You'll be amazed when doing the problems by just how much interesting physics you can do with just the fundamental relation of thermodynamics and the canonical formalism. Don't be turned off by the length of this book (>600 pages); the reason for this is not overly wordy descriptions (i.e, Griffiths), but simply huge amount of material presented (Griffiths would take over 1000 pages to chat about the same amount of material).

Perhaps the best praise I can give this book is that not only did it teach me stat mech, it really sparked my interest in the field of condensed matter physics, enough to contemplate my choosing this as a research topic in grad school.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book for the serious student, October 12, 2004

By 

D. Smith "astrophysicist" (austin, tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (McGraw-Hill Series in Fundamentals of Physics) (Hardcover)

Reif reads like thermodynamics is a brand new result and he has written the first giant paper on it. Not only does this book cover every area under the Sun, from the law of mass action to kinetic theory, but he develops each topic in a formal way, with logical consistency and that curious, gray-haired insight.

I continually look to Reif when more "advanced" books fumble explanations. With the firm conceptual grounding I get there, I can then intuit what other authors are trying to convey. How many astute readers of other thermodynamics textbooks have any idea when Boltzmann's canonical distribution can be used? Or who know the difference between this and Boltzmann's equation?

If you are an instructor, the illuminating end-of-chapter problems will be a boon. If you are a student, they will also be, yet less appreciated likely. No matter who you are, if you want to really know thermo and stat mech and are willing to _think_, then buy this book before some competing, flashy, colorized textbook drives it out of print.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you must choose one book to learn from, choose this one., May 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (McGraw-Hill Series in Fundamentals of Physics) (Hardcover)

Never mind that this book was published in the mid '60s (before I was even born); if you must choose one book to learn from, choose this one. It is so concise, so well thought out that I have yet to encounter a more instructive text on the subject. It contains a fabulous overview of statistical and thermal physics, and -even though the book contains quite a lot of material- I regret that the author (quote) "resisted the tempation to include applications of Onsager's reciprocity relations" and other irreversible phenomena. I used to teach physics and chemistry, and I must say that books of this quality just don't seem to be written these days. Given the inherent subtlety of its subject matter and the problems many students have grasping it I therefore strongly recommend using this book to study from.