by R F Streater (King's College, London)

Table of Contents (37k)
Preface (18k)
Chapter 1: Introduction (101k)

How to construct dynamical systems obeying the first and second laws of thermodynamics: mean energy is conserved, and entropy increases with time? The book answers this question for classical probability (Part I) and quantum probability (Part II). A novel feature is the introduction of heat particles which supply thermal noise and represent the kinetic energy of molecules. When applied to chemical reactions, the theory leads to a nonlinear reaction — diffusion equations exhibiting oscillations or convergence to equilibrium.

• Classical Statistical Dynamics:
  • Introduction
  • Probability Theory
  • Linear Dynamics
  • Isolated Dynamics
  • Isothermal Dynamics
  • Driven Systems
• Quantum Statistical Dynamics:
  • Introduction
  • Quantum Probability
  • Linear Quantum Dynamics
  • Isolated Quantum Dynamics
  • Isothermal and Driven Systems
  • Infinite Systems
  • Generalised Temperatures
  • Bibliography
  • Index