Introduction to the Thermodynamics of Materials, 4th Edition [Hardcover]

David R. Gaskell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560329920 | ISBN-13: 978-1560329923 | Publication Date: February 7, 2003 | Edition: 4th

This book serves as an introduction to the thermodynamic behaviour of materials systems, where a materials system is any assemblage of solids, liquids and/or gases, which occupies space. The book is organised in three sections; techniques, applications and perspectives. Throughout the book, there are extensive references to the scientific reviews and original articles. An introductory text, simultaneously demonstrating the underlying principles and applicability of thermodynamics to the behaviour of non-metallic materials and to the transformation of metallurgy materials.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is an excellent book...it's really what a 'standard' textbook should be: it is detailed, and complete, but builds up from the basics rather than jumping straight in to advanced concepts...I like the iclusion of questions, most importantly, with solutions, and the worked examples are also a valuable resource. Plenty of diagrams for explanations, all clearly referenced and sensibly placed; and there are useful appendices and references.'. Dr. Zoe Barber, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, UK..
LIBRARY
T...he long life of this textbook is as good an evaluation of its quality as any book reviewer's praise. ...It will remain as a classic for times to come..
-- MRS Bulletin

About the Author

David R. Gaskell received a B.Sc. in Metallurgy and Technical Chemistry from the University of Glasgow and a Ph.D. from McMaster University. He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 1967 and later moved to Purdue University, where he is currently a Professor of Materials Engineering.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis; 4th edition (February 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560329920
• ISBN-13: 978-1560329923
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hit and miss, November 2, 2006

By 

Steven (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to the Thermodynamics of Materials, 4th Edition (Hardcover)

I used this book for my course in Materials Thermodynamics, and I must say that it's got some pretty good material and also some poor parts. In particular Gaskell usually does a good job of explaining his derivations, but there are times when the typographic errors get in the way and you sit there for an hour, until your teacher finally tells you that Gaskell made a mistake.

Another annoyance is that Gaskell's solutions in the back of the book are sometimes wrong, which means that it may be difficult to use a self-teaching book. In addition, Gaskell's solutions to some configurational entropy problems are just completely unconventional and nonsensical from an intuitive standpoint -- my teacher told us to disregard his method entirely.

The text does have some pluses: it has plentiful diagrams, excellent thermodynamic appendicies, and in general does a good job of rigorously explaining every concept. It's definitely not a beginner's book, but Thermodynamics is a complex topic and there are certain assumptions made of the reader in any Thermodynamics textbook.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Loaded with errors, November 15, 2004

By 

Materials Science Guy (Los Angeles, CA. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to the Thermodynamics of Materials, 4th Edition (Hardcover)

I used this book (fourth edition) in a graduate level thermo course and found the errors so numerous that it was absolutely frustrating trying to make sense of an already difficult subject. The one good thing about the book is that Gaskell offers many worked examples (unfortunately the errors in the examples make many of them quite confusing).
I find it ironic that the preface reads "The fourth edition...is different from the third...[in that] there is an acute emphasis on typographical and mathematical accuracy." If this is the case I would have hated to have used the third addition.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars WATCH-OUT!!!!!!!, September 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction To The Thermodynamics Of Materials (Hardcover)

Gaskell has a good book here, but there are more mistakes per chapter than any book I have used. The mistakes aren't grammatical or anything (he he), but instead, they are mistakes in formulas and example problems -> where it counts!