A Modern Course in Statistical Physics [Hardcover]

L. E. Reichl (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471595209 | ISBN-13: 978-0471595205 | Publication Date: March 13, 1998 | Edition: 2

All the tools necessary to understand the concepts underlying today's statistical physics

A Modern Course in Statistical Physics goes beyond traditional textbook topics and incorporates contemporary research into a basic course on statistical mechanics. From the universal nature of matter to the latest results in the spectral properties of decay processes, this book emphasizes the theoretical foundations derived from thermodynamics and probability theory that underlie all concepts in statistical physics. Each chapter focuses on a core topic and includes extensive illustrations, exercises, and experimental data as well as a section with more advanced topics and applications. This comprehensive treatment of traditional and modern topics:
* Covers equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics
* Presents the foundations of probability theory and stochastic processes
* Derives statistical mechanics from ergodic theory
* Examines the origin of thermodynamic and hydrodynamic behavior
* Emphasizes equilibrium and nonequilibrium phase transitions
* Presents theories of random walks and Brownian motion
* Discusses hydrodynamics and transport theory of chemical mixtures and discontinuous systems
* Presents transport theory on microscopic and macroscopic levels
* Includes thermodynamics of biophysical processes

Comprehensive coverage of numerous core topics and special applications gives professors flexibility to individualize course design. And the inclusion of advanced topics and extensive references makes this an invaluable resource for researchers as well as students-a textbook that will be retained on the shelf long after the course is completed.

An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available from the Wiley editorial department.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In summary, I enthusiastically recommend Reichl's third edition of A Modern Course in Statistical Physics for the advanced student and active researcher . . . I will most definitely keep Reichl's Modern Course in close reach, and expect to be frequently consulting this volume, not only when preparing graduate-level courses, but occasionally also for the sake of my group's research activities." (J Stat Phys, 2010)
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

All the tools necessary to understand the concepts underlying today's statistical physics

A Modern Course in Statistical Physics goes beyond traditional textbook topics and incorporates contemporary research into a basic course on statistical mechanics. From the universal nature of matter to the latest results in the spectral properties of decay processes, this book emphasizes the theoretical foundations derived from thermodynamics and probability theory that underlie all concepts in statistical physics. Each chapter focuses on a core topic and includes extensive illustrations, exercises, and experimental data as well as a section with more advanced topics and applications. This comprehensive treatment of traditional and modern topics:
* Covers equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics
* Presents the foundations of probability theory and stochastic processes
* Derives statistical mechanics from ergodic theory
* Examines the origin of thermodynamic and hydrodynamic behavior
* Emphasizes equilibrium and nonequilibrium phase transitions
* Presents theories of random walks and Brownian motion
* Discusses hydrodynamics and transport theory of chemical mixtures and discontinuous systems
* Presents transport theory on microscopic and macroscopic levels
* Includes thermodynamics of biophysical processes

Comprehensive coverage of numerous core topics and special applications gives professors flexibility to individualize course design. And the inclusion of advanced topics and extensive references makes this an invaluable resource for researchers as well as students-a textbook that will be retained on the shelf long after the course is completed.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 842 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Interscience; 2 edition (March 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471595209
• ISBN-13: 978-0471595205
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #256,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cumbersome, March 11, 2003

By 

Reviewer (Near Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Modern Course in Statistical Physics (Hardcover)

I found this book to be clumsy in its notation and sloppy in its delivery. The information presented in the book is more than comprehensive, however. Each chapter ends with a "special topics" section that covers new and old ideas in the field. Yet the book manages to fall short with its organization and presentation. When new concepts are introduced, very little background is given, and steps in calculations are often bypassed. There are many examples to follow, but even the examples seem pointless when the next step in the derivation has been skipped and it takes the reader several minutes to find the connection. In addition, the book is a somewhat poor reference in the way that many chapters cannot stand alone, due to the quirky notation that is scattered all over the book. If one is not familiar with this notation, then if one wishes to reference the book, he or she will have to waste time finding out why the author uses a capital N there and a small n here, a "mu prime" there and a "mu" here, or a vector k there and an apparently scalar k here.

In summary, the book is comprehensive, covering a wide range of ideas both new and old, but it fails in the fact that it cannot present the information in a clear manner.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent textbook for graduate students, April 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Modern Course in Statistical Physics (Hardcover)

I'm glad that there's "eventually" a stat-mech textbook that takes from grads' points of view. It starts from a undergrad level of thermodyanmics and ends to somewhere close to renormalization group. It's a book with clear examples, figures, and explicit derivation of equations for average grad students rather than particular flock of "genius". I gave it two thumbs up.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Statistical Physics, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Modern Course in Statistical Physics (Hardcover)

I own the first edition of this book, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Clearly written, it steers a course between introductory and advanced. Whether an owner of the first edition should also buy the second edition, may be doubted, as is clear from the 1 star comment below, but a physics student looking for a good "more advanced" book after having followed an introductory university course, would certainly appreciate this second edition, which is a stepping stone between the basic intro books and the specialized monographies on e.g. phase transitions or hydrodynamics. I have given 5 stars to compensate maximally for the 1 star review below, which does not do justice to the book.