Statistical Mechanics

This textbook provides a comprehensive, yet accessible, introduction to statistical mechanics. Crafted and class-tested over many years of teaching, it carefully guides advanced undergraduate and graduate students who are encountering statistical mechanics for the first time through this - sometimes - intimidating subject.

Autorentext

James H. Luscombe received the PhD in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1983. After post-doctoral positions at the University of Toronto and Iowa State University, he joined the Research Laboratory of Texas Instruments, where he worked on the development of nanoelectronic devices. In 1994, he joined the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, where he is Professor of Physics. He was Chair of the Department of Physics from 2003 2009. He teaches a wide variety of topics, including generalrelativity, statistical mechanics, mathematical methods, and quantum computation. He has published more than 60 research articles, and has given more than 100 conference presentations; he holds 2 patents.

Inhalt

Part One. Structure of Statistics. 1. Thermodynamics. 2. From Mechanics to Statistical Mechanics. 3. Probability Theory. 4. Ensemble Theory. Part Two. Applications of Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics. 5. Ideal Systems. 6. Interacting Systems. 7. Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena. 8. Scaling Theories and the Renormalization Group