Research Catalog

Title

Concepts in thermal physics / Stephen J. Blundell and Katherine M. Blundell.

Author

Blundell, Stephen, 1967-

Publication

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, c2010.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Blundell, Katherine M.

Description

xviii, 493 p. : ill.; 26 cm.

Summary

This text provides a modern introduction to the main principles of thermal physics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. The key concepts are presented and new ideas are illustrated with worked examples as well as description of the historical background to their discovery.

Subject

• Thermodynamics
• Heat
• Statistical mechanics
• Hot Temperature

Genre/Form

Lehrbuch.

Note

• Previous ed.: 2006.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [485]-487) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Heat -- Probability -- Temperature and the Boltzmann factor -- The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution -- Pressure -- Molecular effusion -- The mean free path and collisions -- Transport properties in gases -- The thermal diffusion equation -- Energy -- Isothermal and adiabatic processes -- Heat engines and the second law -- Entropy -- Information theory -- Thermodynamic potentials -- Rods, bubbles, and magnets -- Third law -- Equipartition of energy -- The partition function -- Statistical mechanics of an ideal gas -- The chemical potential -- Photons -- Phonons -- Relativistic gases -- Real gases -- Cooling real gases -- Phase transitions -- Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distributions -- Quantum gases and condensates -- Sound waves -- Shock waves -- Brownian motion and fluctuations -- Non-equilibrium thermodynamics -- Stars -- Compact objects -- Earth's atmosphere -- A. Fundamental constants -- B. Useful formulae -- C. Useful mathematics -- D. The electromagnetic spectrum -- E. Some thermodynamical definitions -- F. Thermodynamic expansion formulae -- G. Reduced mass -- H. Glossary of main symbols.

ISBN

• 0199562091 (hbk.)
• 9780199562091 (hbk.)
• 0199562105 (pbk.)
• 9780199562107 (pbk.)

OCLC

• 320198157
• SCSB-10459885

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library