Statistical Mechanics: A Survival Guide

by A. M. Glazer, J. S. Wark

Overview

The present book is a teaching text designed to introduce the fundamentals of the subject of statistical mechanics. The treatment given is designed to give the student a feeling for the topic of statistical mechanics without being held back by the need to understand complex mathematics. The text is concise and concentrates on the understanding of fundamental aspects. Numerous questions with worked solutions are given throughout.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198508151
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/27/2001
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Oxford University

Table of Contents

1. Back to Basics1.1. The Role of Statistical Mechanics1.2Introduction to Coin Tossing1.3Heads I Win, Tails You Lose1.4Stirling's Theorem1.5More Flipping Coins1.6Distinguishable Particles1.7Summary1.8Problems2. The Statistics of Distinguishable Particles2.1. The Boltzmann Distribution for Distinguishable Particles2.2. Lagrange's Method of Undetermined Multipliers2.3. The Single-Particle Partition Function2.4. Degeneracy2.5. The Partition Function of a System2.6. Summary2.7. Problems3. Paramagnets and Oscillators3.1. A Spin-1/2 Paramagnet3.2. Paramagnets with Angular Momentum J3.3. The Simple Harmonic Oscillator3.3.1. An Array of 1-D Simple Harmonic Oscillators3.3.2. An Array of 3-D Simple Harmonic Oscillators3.4. Summary3.4. Problems4. Indistinguishable particles and monatomic ideal gases4.1. Distinguishable and Indistinguishable States4.2. Identical Gas Particles - Counting the States4.3. The Partition Function of a Monatonic Ideal Gas4.4. Properties of the Monatonic Ideal Gas4.5. More about Adiabatic Expansions4.6. Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution of Speeds4.7. Gibbs Paradox4.8. Summary4.9. Problems5. Diatomic Ideal Gases5.1. Other Degrees of Freedom5.2. Rotational Heat Capacities for Diatomic Gases5.3. The Vibrational Partition Function of a Diatomic Gas5.4. Putting it All Together for an Ideal Gas5.5. Summary5.6. Problems6. Quantum Statistics6.1. Indistinguishable Particles and Quantum Statistics6.2. Bose-Einstein Statistics6.3. Fermi-Dirac Statistics6.4. More on the Quantum Distribution Functions6.5. Summary6.6. Problems7. Electrons in metals7.1. Fermi-Dirac Statistics: Electrons in Metals7.2. The Heat Capacity of a Fermi Gas7.3. The Quantum-Classical Transition7.4. Summary7.5. Problems8. Photons and phonons8.1. The Photon Gas8.2. Generalized Derivation of the Density of States8.3. Blackbody Radiation8.4. Phonons8.5. Summary8.6. Problems9. Bose-Einstein Condensation9.1. Introduction9.2. The Phenomenon of Bose-Einstein Condensation9.3. The Quantum-Classical Transition Revisited9.4. Summary9.5. Problems10. Ensembles10.1. Introduction10.2. The Chemical Potential10.3. Ensembles and Probabilities10.4. The Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein Distributions Revisited10.5. Fermi-Dirac Distribution Revisited10.6. Bose-Einstein Distribution Revisited10.7. Summary10.8. Problems11. The End is in Sight11.1. Phase Space11.2. Equipartition of Energy11.3. Route Map through Statistical Mechanics11.4. Summary11.5. ProblemsAppendix A: Worked AnswersAppendix B: Useful IntegralsAppendix C: Physical ConstantsAppendix D: BibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"This short book does indeed cover the central topics of a good undergraduate course. . . Overall, the chapters on specific models (paramagnets, ideal gases, electrons in metals, etc.) are well written and easily understandable. The main results and their key features are beautifully outlined and compared to experimental evidence, such as magnetization data for several different paramagnets. . . . The problems are well selected and appropriate." — American Journal of Physics

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