Customer Reviews

The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium: With Applications in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

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This book is by far the best book, in my view, on the subject of chemical thermodynamics. The author covered both the classical and statistical aspects of the subject, and did it with such lucidity and consistency as rarely seen in books dealing with similar topics. Unlike many other text books which are primarily consisted of formulas and sample calculations, the author put in a lot of expositional materials that made each section very readable in itself and well connected with other sections. The author also didn't shy away from the necessary mathematics by providing the needed materials for all the derivations. The most outstanding feature of the book, however, would be the consistency and continuity in the materials covered, the explanations provided, the mathematics employed, and the simbols used. The only shortcoming of the book, however, seemed to be too digressional and wordy at times. But if you are prepared for these and ready to read a master upclose, you will be in for a pleasant surprize.

This is not a book for beginners. While the subject is covered thouroughly, there are virtually no examples on the usage of the equations and formulas. Perhaps I simply had a poor teacher but I feel that this book was written with the intention of being used as a reference book for graduate level students. I would recommend any undergrad assigned this book for class try to find a supplementary book from which examples and problems may be worked.

This book is very wordy. Often, there are only 1 or 2 at the most examples per chapter, but most of it narrative. Additional books are requred in order to solve numerical problems.