THERMAL PHYSICS

This book is an informal, readable introduction to the basic ideas of thermal physics. It is aimed at making the reader feel comfortable with the extremum principles of entropy and free energies. There is a repeating theme: Molecules (spins) do X to maximize their entropy, and molecules (spins) do XX to minimize their free energy. This finally leads to the idea of the Landau-Ginzburg free energy functional. The author illustrates how powerful the idea is by using two examples from phase transitions.

Contents:

Introduction to Thermal Physics
All You Need to Know to Read the Rest
Isolated Thermal Systems
Systems in Contact with a Thermal Reservoir
Open Systems, Flexible Systems, and Two More Energy-like Functions
Energy versus Free Energy
Phases and Phase Transitions
Second-Order Phase Transitions
Landau–Ginzburg Free Energy Functional and Applications
Monte Carlo and Finite-Size Scaling

Readership: Undergraduates in physics, materials science, materials engineering and physical chemistry.

“The author has been extremely successful in carving out his desired goals. The effect on potential readers is hard to assess, but I found the book entertaining and informative.”

Irwin Oppenheim
Journal of Statistical Physics

“In the delightful book ‘Thermal Physics’, Professor Lee has written a light-hearted and easy to read exposition on thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. At all times, he strives to present the essential ideas with clarity (and humor). The first half of the book admirably covers many standard topics in thermal physics; the second half of the book then applies these concepts to the important area of phase transitions.”

Bruce M Law
Professor of Physics
Kansas State University

“This charming book which the author recommends as a supplementary text may be used as a main text for a crash course on its own. It is an appealing alternative to conventional texts especially for most students who may find higher level texts too heavy-going.”

Jong-Jean Kim
Professor of Physics
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

“The strength of the book is in giving readers an understanding of the basic principles of the subject and a sound intuition of the way thermal systems behave. This is done in a light way, but with absolutely serious intent … I hope that advanced undergraduates will read this book … but non-beginners should find it both informative and enjoyable. Postgraduates may also find this book useful in providing a rapid, almost pain-free introduction to the subject. At the very least, teachers will benefit by using some of the ideas in this book in their own lectures.”

Contemporary Physics

“This book does provide a much better presentation than most textbooks that cover thermal physics, especially as entropy and free-energy concepts are frequently just a chapter or two in a physics text … The author's relaxed and informal writing style makes for better understanding of the subject matter.”

IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine

212pp		Pub. date: Mar 2002
ISBN: 978-981-02-4874-1 981-02-4874-1		US$46 / £31

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