Molecular Driving Forces: Statistical Thermodynamics in Chemistry & Biology (Paperback)

by Ken A. Dill (Author), Sarina Bromberg (Author) "Fluids flow, boil, freeze, and evaporate..." (more)
Key Phrases: solute convention, fundamental energy equation, fundamental entropy equation, New York, Suggested Reading, Oxford University Press (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A real intellectual tour de force, and a pleasure to teach from. -- David L. Beveridge, Wesleyan University

I found it very refreshing. Plausible examples are introduced at a very early stage. -- Richard Jones, University of Sheffield, UK

The examples send the reader right out of textbook land and into interesting and current problems. -- John Schellman, University of Oregon

This is the most clearly written, insightful Physical Chemistry text available. -- Terrence G. Oas, Duke University

Product Description
Molecular Driving Forces is an introductory statistical thermodynamics text that describes the principles and forces that drive chemical and biological processes. It shows how the complex behaviors of molecules can result from a few simple physical processes, and a central theme is how simple models can give surprisingly accurate insights into the workings of the molecular world.

Written in a clear and reader-friendly style, the book gives an excellent introduction to the subject for novices. It should be useful to those who want to develop their understanding of this important field, seeing how physical principles can be applied to the study of modern problems in the chemical, biological, and materials sciences.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Garland Science; 1 edition (September 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815320515
• ISBN-13: 978-0815320517
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #46 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Chemical > Thermodynamics
  #49 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Materials Science > Thermodynamics
  #51 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Analytic

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to understand the physics if life? Need to read this!, August 1, 2003

By A Customer

The topic of this book, the physical chemistry of molecules, especially those relevant to biology, is one of the most challenging courses to a college student in chemist. But these authors have tried to make it easy for you - and they succeed. They used figures, pictures and analogies to help you to understand some of the most sophisticated concepts in science. For example entropy. The authors are leading researchers in the field and they brought a unique perspective to the subject; the writing is very lucid.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for basics on Stat Mech, December 18, 2008

By	bianncia (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

This book covers pretty much everything you need to know for a statistical mechanics class: it starts with a brush-up on statistics and necessary calculus skills and moves on to the basics of thermo and then stat mech. The authors are excellent writers and make the text almost entertaining (compared to other textbooks in my field). In my case, the only part that wasn't useful was the lack of coverage on the Ising Model. Problems are great for reviewing for tests as well. I used this book for my chem eng grad school class and found it helpful for untangling the mess of derivations and equations in my notes into something more meaningful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Santiago on Dill, April 22, 2008

By	Santiago Lago Aranda (Seville, Spain) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book covers a broad field of topics not present in similar books more than usual ones. A great value for a teacher or for advanced undergraduate students!