Thermodynamics (Dover Books on Physics) [Paperback]

Enrico Fermi (Author), Physics (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 048660361X | ISBN-13: 978-0486603612 | Publication Date: June 1, 1956

In this classic of modern science, the Nobel Laureate presents a clear treatment of systems, the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, entropy, thermodynamic potentials, and much more. Calculus required.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1956)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 048660361X
• ISBN-13: 978-0486603612
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Dynamics > Thermodynamics

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Lectures on Thermodynamics, A+ for Clarity, February 12, 2004

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thermodynamics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

These lectures by Enrico Fermi make great reading for undergraduates in chemistry or physics, particularly those undergoing the rigors of physical chemistry and chemical thermodynamics. Fermi writes with clarity, always carefully laying the appropriate groundwork for each topic.

The mathematics assumes familiarity with calculus, including partial differentiation. Fermi provides clear explanations and motivation for the mathematics and the derivations are complete and easy to follow. For example, he carefully explained the form of a perfect differential of two variables and how it can be more readily integrated. I appreciated this help.

The first four chapters will be familiar to students of physics: Thermodynamic Systems, First Law of Thermodynamics, Second Law of Thermodynamics, and Entropy. The derivation of the Clapeyron equation and the Van der Waals equation may be new to some students.

Thereafter, the text begins to look more like physical chemistry with chapters titled Thermodynamic Potentials, Gaseous Reactions, Thermodynamics of Dilute Solutions, and the Entropy Constant. I found these last chapters to be more difficult, but not overly so.

At some points Thermodynamics becomes a real page-turner, but not in the sense of a fast-paced action story. The page-turning is necessary to retrieve earlier mathematical expressions. Occasionally, you will encounter statements like "the expression for the free energy is immediately obtained from equations (111), (29), and (86)." Fermi does not allow the reader to forget earlier derivations and discussions.

If your familiarity with thermodynamics is limited (or now foggy due to the passage of years), I suggest first reading Understanding Thermodynamics by H. C. Van Ness. This 100-page book, a series of lectures, is an excellent introduction to thermodynamics from an engineering and physics perspective. It corresponds to the first four chapters of Fermi's text.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one and only book to learn thermodynamics., October 13, 2010

By 

Cristiano Nisoli (Los Alamos NM, USA and Lombardy, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thermodynamics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

Last week I was having dinner with friends in a restaurant in northern New Mexico. All physicists, slightly drunk, we were debating as different topics as "why did Hannibal not march on Rome after annihilating its legions at the battle of Canne?", or "how could those 19th century guys figure out a concept as like entropy BEFORE knowing statistical mechanics", when many lamented how unnatural thermodynamics felt as undergraduates, and how all textbooks were perhaps not incomplete but incapable of convey the physics. And then I said "well, there is Fermi's Thermodynamics..." end soon everybody agreed. My freshman course in thermodynamics, in Italy, was based on this book: although it is short and concise, no other text has its compelling clarity in explaining the basic laws. And it has that distinctive Fermi style: cutting the crap, straight to the physical point. Undergraduates learning the subject on any other book are really missing out.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the core of thermodynamics, January 28, 2003

By 

Michael Demkowicz "[e-mail]" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thermodynamics (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

fermi presents thermodynamics with beutiful economy. many other authors obfuscate the subject with extraneous detail, often missing the most important points. fermi misses absolutely nothing of importance, but does not weigh down his explanations with ramblings or tangents either. he presents the bare core of thermodynamics.

though the following analogy is somewhat cheesy, i find it appropriate: most authors who have written on thermo are like beginning kung fu students who do all sorts of fancy moves, backflips, and sommersaults but who ultimately land on their behinds. fermi is like the grand master who uses a stunning sparsity of moves, but each one is necessary and each one is enough. in the end, his competition doesn't stand a chance. he's just that good.