Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (Fundamentals of Physics)

Customer Reviews:

Best book for the serious student.......2004-10-13

Reif reads like thermodynamics is a brand new result and he has written the first giant paper on it. Not only does this book cover every area under the Sun, from the law of mass action to kinetic theory, but he develops each topic in a formal way, with logical consistency and that curious, gray-haired insight.

I continually look to Reif when more "advanced" books fumble explanations. With the firm conceptual grounding I get there, I can then intuit what other authors are trying to convey. How many astute readers of other thermodynamics textbooks have any idea when Boltzmann's canonical distribution can be used? Or who know the difference between this and Boltzmann's equation?

If you are an instructor, the illuminating end-of-chapter problems will be a boon. If you are a student, they will also be, yet less appreciated likely. No matter who you are, if you want to really know thermo and stat mech and are willing to _think_, then buy this book before some competing, flashy, colorized textbook drives it out of print.

A great book for a thinking man. Not for novices........2004-01-24

One thing that distinguishes this book from the rest on stat mech is its emphasis on the physical content behind the equations. The author takes great pain to develop and elucidate, at every turn, a coherent physical picture for the edifice of statistical mechanics, in much the same style as the classic book by Tolman. However, if you are learning stat mech/thermo for the first time, you probably will be too busy familiarizing yourself with the equations to be able to appreciate the value of his explanations and motivations, which may just seem pointless rants. So, simply, if you are a newbie, try one of the more mediocre textbooks on stat mech, to learn the subject at a superficial level. Once you've mastered the more superficial stuff, you will come around to love this book, assuming that you are a reflective person.

one of the worst textbooks ever written.......2003-03-10

I suspect the text was actually designed to inefficiently convey ideas. I cant believe someone has not written a student guide to fill in the holes for all the subtle leaps, overwhich students are expected to understand and apply.

Good introduction, but a bit light........2002-08-07

This book left me with two different impressions. On one hand,
it is extremely well readable (in fact, some explanations are
even too long and boring and could have been kept shorter).
As such, it is a very smooth introduction to equilibrium
statistical physics and its relationship with classical
thermodynamics. This is the good news.
The bad news is that under pages and pages of textual, simple
explanation, the author hides real difficult and subtle points.
So in fact it is a big book with a lot of pages that only
brings you up to a modest height in statistical physics.
Compared to Tolman, the information density is quite low.
But then, that's what makes it an easy read.

Not that great.......2002-04-15

I think this book is an example of what sometimes happens when popularity overtakes quality. This book is definitely popular. Some might even call it a classic. But it can't really compare with newer thermodynamics books that more closely follow the modern approach of teaching thermo. It would not be fair to say that the book is incomplete, as it covers all of the necessary topics. However, it does a fairly good job of making the subject more boring than it needs to be. And to anyone who has learned thermodynamics must realize how serious a charge this is. The single biggest obstacle to students struggling to learn thermodynamics is that they find the subject boring, and this book doesn't do anything to help the situation.

Average customer rating:

Fantastic First Book
Good Stuff
Good
comprehensive book
Best book available at this level

An Introduction to Thermal Physics
Daniel V. Schroeder
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd Edition)
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ASIN: 0201380277

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic First Book.......2007-07-27

This book is a great introduction to thermal physics for a physicist, and a fantastic book for chemists who found physical chemistry hand-waving. This books wants you to understand what's going on more than anything. Very self-teachable, that's how I did it. It is on the easy side, and the problems are relatively simple, but if you want an introduction, this is it. Helps with the conceptual understanding better than any other thermodynamics book I've ever read (all physical chemistry books are written by people not able to communicate or don't really understand thermodynamics, just memorize). Stat mechanics in it is a little weak, but still a good introduction.

Good Stuff.......2007-02-20

I have this book for an undergrad Intro to Thermal Physics class. I think it's great. The author takes a mixed approach and varies between thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. I don't find this annoying. It's nice to see how they are interrelated. Schroeder also reveals the depth of thermal physics and the large variety of areas it covers.

It's valid criticism that there are not many examples and the problems can be very challenging. Some answers in the back of the book would be nice. It is not a book that is for the self-teacher, but with a good professor it's very nice. Finally, the price is amazingly low. If only more texbooks were this cheap!

\m/ \m/

Good.......2007-01-08

I am a physics, math,and biology major; minoring in chemistry. The book is written very well and the concepts are explained very well throughout the book.

comprehensive book.......2006-11-10

I like the book al lot, the writes has an excellent view on how to explain the physics step by step. Of course you will need some basic knowledge of calculus (integrals, differentials). What I dislike about the book is that for some of the problems included to practise your skills you need to estimate some values which makes it difficult to check your answer (when you only get a number to compare it with). This, and the fact that the answers to the problems are not in the book (you probably need to buy some other book for it or so). This makes it impossible to check you answers.

Best book available at this level.......2006-09-06

This is best text on Statistical Mechanics and Thermo available at the advanced undergrad level. None of the other texts at this level can compete: Reif contains eveything but doesn't distinguish between important ideas and unimportant details. Kittel and Kroemer is too terse. Baierlein is too long-winded and idiosyncratic. Schroeder's text strikes just the right level: the big ideas are clearly explained and well-motivated. I like the order of presentation. The math is at the right level, the problems are excellent. There is even some humor. I have only two (minor) complaints: 1) the derivation of the entropy of an ideal gas involves some uncertainty-principle-hand-waving when a straight-forward counting of particle-in-a-box states would have done the job. 2) There is little or no discussion of transport properties: diffusion, thermal conductitivy, viscosity, and the like. If you don't like this book, then you won't like the others on this subject.

Average customer rating:

The bible for building low temperature cryostats
The bible for building low temperature cryostats
The bible for building low temperature cryostats

Matter and Methods at Low Temperatures
Frank Pobell
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Experimental Techniques in Low-Temperature Physics (Monographs on the Physics and Chemistry of Materials, 59)
Experimental Techniques in Condensed Matter Physics at Low Temperatures (Advanced Book Classics)
Low-Temperature Physics
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ASIN: 3540463569

Book Description

This textbook contains a wealth of information essential for successful experiments at low temperatures. The first chapters describe the low-temperature properties of liquids and solid matter, including liquid helium. The major part of the book is devoted to refrigeration techniques and the physics on which they rely, the definition of temperature, thermometry, and a variety of design and construction techniques. The lively style and practical orientation of this text make it easy to read and particularly useful to anyone beginning research in low-temperature physics. Low-temperature scientists will find it of great value due to its extensive compilation of materials data and relevant new results from thermometry and materials properties, as well as many additional references to the recent literature. Problems are included as well. In addition, this edition also describes newly developed low temperature experimentation techniques and new materials properties.

from a reader's comments at Amazon.com:

"Frank Pobell's book is essentially the bible for building cryostats. If you are in need of a low temperature system and the organization that you are working with doesn't know about Pobell's book, you should look for another vendor."

Customer Reviews:

The bible for building low temperature cryostats.......2001-04-24

If you want to build a low temperature cryostat you need this book. If you are having a cryostat built and your subcontractor doesn't know about Pobell, you need to find another subcontractor.

The bible for building low temperature cryostats.......2001-04-24

If you want to build a low temperature cryostat you need this book.

The bible for building low temperature cryostats.......2001-04-24

Frank Pobell's book is essentially the bible for building cryostats. If you are in need of a low temperature system and the organization that you are working with doesn't know about Pobell's book, you should look for another vendor.

The Finite Element Method: Basic Concepts and Applications (Series in Computational and Physical Processes in Mechanics and Thermal Sciences)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful book for MEG students and scholars

The Finite Element Method: Basic Concepts and Applications (Series in Computational and Physical Processes in Mechanics and Thermal Sciences)
Darrell W. Pepper , and Juan C. Heinrich
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Transport Phenomena

ASIN: 1591690277

Book Description

This much-anticipated second edition introduces the fundamentals of the finite element method featuring clear-cut examples and an applications-oriented approach. Using the transport equation for heat transfer as the foundation for the governing equations, this new edition demonstrates the versatility of the method for a wide range of applications, including structural analysis and fluid flow.

Much attention is given to the development of the discrete set of algebraic equations, beginning with simple one-dimensional problems that can be solved by inspection, continuing to two- and three-dimensional elements, and ending with three chapters describing applications. The increased number of example problems per chapter helps build an understanding of the method to define and organize required initial and boundary condition data for specific problems. In addition to exercises that can be worked out manually, this new edition refers to user-friendly computer codes for solving one-, two-, and three-dimensional problems. Among the first FEM textbooks to include finite element software, the book contains a website with access to an even more comprehensive list of finite element software written in FEMLAB, MAPLE, MathCad, MATLAB, FORTRAN, C++, and JAVA - the most popular programming languages.

This textbook is valuable for senior level undergraduates in mechanical, aeronautical, electrical, chemical, and civil engineering. Useful for short courses and home-study learning, the book can also serve as an introduction for first-year graduate students new to finite element coursework and as a refresher for industry professionals. The book is a perfect lead-in to Intermediate Finite Element Method: Fluid Flow and Heat and Transfer Applications (Taylor & Francis, 1999, Hb 1560323094).

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful book for MEG students and scholars.......2000-08-17

Dr. Darrell Pepper is a wonderful professor. I was in his MEG 700 class at UNLV and He is the best professor I have had so far during my graduate school career. This book is also wonderful in expalining difficult concepts clearly and charting difficult flow diagrams.

Statistical and Thermal Physics: Fundamentals and Applications

Average customer rating:

Terrible
A wonderful book

Statistical and Thermal Physics: Fundamentals and Applications
Michael D. Sturge , and M. D. Sturge
Manufacturer: AK Peters
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Statistical Mechanics: A Concise Introduction for Chemists
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ASIN: 1568811969

Book Description

This book is based on many years of teaching statistical and thermal physics. It assumes no previous knowledge of thermodynamics, kinetic theory, or probability--the only prerequisites are an elementary knowledge of classical and modern physics, and of multivariable calculus.

The first half of the book introduces the subject inductively but rigorously, proceeding from the concrete and specific to the abstract and general. In clear physical language the book explains the key concepts, such as temperature, heat, entropy, free energy, chemical potential, and distributions, both classical and quantum.

The second half of the book applies these concepts to a wide variety of phenomena, including perfect gases, heat engines, and transport processes. Each chapter contains fully worked examples and real-world problems drawn from physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, electronics, and mechanical engineering.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible.......2006-05-10

This book is terrible. We used it for my introductory statistical mechanics class, and no one I talked to in that class liked the book. Things are not explained clearly, equations are often not derived, but either left as exercises, or just stated. Many important results aren't stated clearly, are only implicitly stated, or are hidden in the text. Examples are often not done clearly, and pretty much just state the question and then the answer without showing you how it was arrived at. The index is also worthless, and does not actually list things found in the book. This is one of the worst physics books I've ever used.

A wonderful book.......2004-04-01

I was fortunate enough to be one of Prof. Sturge's Physics 43 students in 1999. My classmates and I found this to be a wonderful book written by a first-rate teacher. We firmly believe that we found all of the errors and typos ;)

Book Description

This book describes how modern quantum field theory is capable of treating not only quantum field particles, but also objects with classical and quantum mechanical degrees of freedom, including thermal degrees of freedom. It thus provides a unified overview of many areas of physics on the basis of the concept of macroscopic quantum vacuum.

Average customer rating:

A practical guide to DSC
A good reference book for both beginners and experts

Differential Scanning Calorimetry
G.W.H. Höhne , W.F. Hemminger , and H.-J. Flammersheim
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 354000467X

Book Description

In this updated and fully revised second edition, the authors provide the newcomer and the experienced practitioner with a balanced and comprehensive insight into all important methods and aspects of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), including a sound presentation of the theoretical basis of DSC thermal analysis and temperature-modulated DSC (TMDCS). Emphasis is placed on modern evaluation techniques, instrumentation, the underlying measurement principles, metrologically correct calibrations, factors influencing the measurement process, and on the exact interpretation of the results. The information enables the research scientist, the analyst and experienced laboratory staff to choose the most suitable equipment, to apply DSC methods successfully, to interpret the measurement curve, and thus to measure key properties precisely. In addition, the new edition includes improved instrumental techniques such as Tzerotm and StepScantm, new evaluation techniques, more applications, and the latest references.

Customer Reviews:

A practical guide to DSC.......2001-08-30

This book is a useful and clearly written practical guide for a technique that is becoming more important for more people as the years go by. If I do have to get critical, I could say that its price is rather high for its size. Although it contains a few references to modulated DSC I would gladly see a second edition that incorporates that side of the story in detail precisely because this new development is revolutionizing the DSC field as we speak. It will make it even broader than it already is and the new users need a book that allows them a good and easy path in. Another thing that is missing is the subfield of microcalorimetry (on protein solutions etc).
The explanation of deconvolution techniques is rather meager because the authors find fourier transforms (too?!) daunting. Otherwise: a fine book

A good reference book for both beginners and experts.......2000-01-17

This book gave me in depth understanding of each standard test method. It explains the test procedures, the sources of error and how to correct for them. Better written than most ASTM standards but still have room for improvement. It's not a "DSC for Dummies". I still have problem understanding certain parts of this book. Background knowledge of DSC is a needed. If your only source of test procedure is ASTM standards (and you are like me - have problem understanding them), this book will definately help.

Average customer rating:

An old one
Mediocre at best
Poorly manufactured book!
Unclear and unhelpful
cheap Tiwan copies

Thermal Physics (2nd Edition)
Charles Kittel , and Herbert Kroemer
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics (McGraw-Hill Series in Fundamentals of Physics)

ASIN: 0716710889

Customer Reviews:

An old one.......2007-05-15

Huge content. Good book with extra information but dont deal with it if you are not taking the assigned course.

Mediocre at best.......2006-10-20

I can't really say I'm a fan of this book. A good physics book has at least 1 of these qualities:

1: Nice balance of mathematical formalism and explanation of the physics (this almost never happens)
2: Enough explanation of the physics to make up for a lack of formalism (any Griffiths text for example)
3: Enough mathematical formalism to make up for a lack of explanation of the physics.

This book doesn't have ANY of these qualities. The only clear part of the book is the Introduction. The rest of it seems fairly scatterbrained. I also don't know why people are raving so much about the problems in the book-- I found them to be more exercises in manipulating/integrating logarithms instead of really giving the reader/student any further insight into the theory. All in all I'd have to say I'm pretty pissed that Berkeley uses this book and that I was forced to deal with it.

The only reason I gave it three stars it seems to be okay for reviewing the material but if you're learning it the first time around it really lacks the detail necessary for a thorough understanding

Poorly manufactured book!.......2006-05-04

I remember when I took this couse as an undergraduate it was very challenging to develop an "intuitive feel" for the subject material and the book seemed to make matters worse. Several years later and after a little mathematical "seasoning", I have revisited Kittel's Thermal Physics and now realize how well the material is presented. However, I am forced to give the book 3 stars because I remember how EVERY textbook in the class(~15 students) fell apart before the semester ended. I remember paying nearly $80 for the book at the time- totally unacceptable for a book in this price range. I was actually hoping to find an inexpensive used copy to replace my original, but after reading the reviews, it appears that the binding problem has not been corrected yet. So, I guess I'll have to tolerate keeping the pages intact as I thumb through the book.

Unclear and unhelpful.......2005-10-25

As a textbook for an undergraduate course on thermal physics, this offering is quite poor. The authors lack the gift of clearly communicating their (obviously quite good) understanding of thermal physics; the writing, particularly when explaining what should be simple concepts, is dense and opaque. Figures often function as nothing more than page-fillers, and do not serve to clarify the text. Important results are scattered, in many cases not even set off from the main text with any sort of visual cue. The problems for each section (and the text itself) will frequently bring in detailed information from other areas of physics or chemistry without making any attempt to explain its relation to the subject at hand. The authors often use the problems as extensions to the text, adding a half page of extraneous commentary after asking a question that takes a single line to state. As another reviewer remarked, the problems in general can take an hour to interpret and five minutes to solve. Overall, the book is very wordy when it doesn't need to be, confusing, and difficult to use.

If you are an undergraduate taking a first class in thermal physics, it will be a tremendous chore to learn it from this book.

cheap Tiwan copies.......2004-04-12

This is a great book for the field but some companies get cheap foreign copies that WILL NOT LAST. I happened to buy one for the statistical mechanics class that I am in and the spine has broken and the pages are coming loose. MAKE SHURE YOU CHECK WITH THE SELLER TO SEE THAT IT IS TRUELY A US OR EUROPEAN COPY.

Average customer rating:

Thermophysics of Polymers I: Theory
Herbert Baur
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540650466

Book Description

Herbert Baur provides a simple description of the theory of thermophysics of polymers. In order to illustrate the theoretical skeleton he has only treated the simple, easily comprehensible problems of polymer physics. These, however, in detail. The main points covered are: thermally excited conformation isomery of polymers; phonon gas of ideal polymer crystals; the dissipative thermo-mechanical behavior of polymers, new aspects of viscoelastic behavior, glass transistion, and crystallization.

Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences (Mcgraw-Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering)

Average customer rating:

All Mechanical Engineering Students Should Own This Book
Thermal Fluid book
Great for learning the FUNDAMENTALS.
A couple of comments
Very interesting read!

Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences (Mcgraw-Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering)
Yunus A. Cengel , and Robert H. Turner
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Mechanics of Materials
Construction Management
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Mechanics of Materials
First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications

ASIN: 0072454261

Book Description

The Second Edition of Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences presents up-to-date, balanced coverage of the three major subject areas comprising introductory thermal-fluid engineering: thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. By emphasizing the physics and underlying physical phenomena involved, the text encourages creative think, development of a deeper understanding of the subject matter, and is read with enthusiasm and interest by both students and professors.

Customer Reviews:

All Mechanical Engineering Students Should Own This Book.......2007-08-12

Excellent book. A Must-Have for just about all engineers, in particular mechanical engineers. Great overview of a vast array of topics for thermal and fluid engineering applications.

This book is also a great reference once you understand the basics. Offers some details you wouldn't expect in an introductory text and some nice tables in the appendices.

Buy a copy of this book to learn from and then to occupy a well-deserved spot on your bookshelf.

Thermal Fluid book .......2005-09-26

shipped in a very reasonable time, was in good condition, price was very fair. Great value

Great for learning the FUNDAMENTALS........2001-12-26

I thought this was a very well written, organized book. The concepts were explained very clearly. It was great to finally find an understandable book on this subject; other thermo/fluids books that I have read haven't been as informative and comprehendable.

One of the drawbacks, however, was the fact that the examples presented within the book were very simple and didn't cover the concepts in as much depth as I had hoped. Many complex topics that were in the questions at the end of the chapter hadn't been covered well enough in the preceding text to allow them to be both solved AND understood. Furthermore, there were some thermo/fluid topics that weren't covered in the book at all that I thought should have been (compressible flow, for example). As a result, when I took the course in college, my professor had to print out pages from other thermo books to compensate for this.

Despite this, however, there were many pictures that accompanied the examples and again, as stated above, it was easy to understand. I was very impressed with that, given the abstractness of the subject, and the difficulty that other authors have had explaining it effectively.

The bottom line: It was a great book to learn about the fundamentals. I suppose, according to the title, it has served its purpose. However, if you want to go into depth with this subject, go elsewhere.

A couple of comments.......2001-09-04

I will begin with the good things. This book contains a LOT of information. The tables are very extensive, and the subject matter is very broad. The derivations are generally easy to follow and I found the text itself even enjoyable to read at times. These things upped my opinion of the book from one star to two. However, the example problems are generally not sufficient to help with the far more complex problems in the back of the chapters. As a further frustration, only about a sixth of the problems include the solutions. The end result is that for a homework one is left leafing through the book in a futile search for more extensive guidance on the very extensive problems, all the while not knowing if you didn't mess up the problem already in the first calculation you made. For example, I have this textbook for my second course in fluid dynamics. For my first homework, I had a three day weekend to complete 3 problems. 30+ work hours later (and one shot weekend) I have no idea if I'm right on the first one and I'm still stuck on the last one. I dislike having to go to reciation, so it's not unusual for me to spend lots of time on problems and reading the book in order to figure out the homeworks on my own. But this book is quite frankly kicking my arse. Considering that this is my second fluids course (I'm an aerospace eng student) you would think I would be better at fluids. However, my first fluids textbook was also a Cengel book, and that book was next to useless as well. My overall conclusion: A great book for reading and catching derivations with lots of good tables and a wide array of topics. But it's a huge frustration waiting to happen if you plan on working the problems/preparing for an exam.

Very interesting read!.......2000-10-11

I am currently taking an introductory course in thermodynamics. I find this book to be a very interesting read. The book uses both SI units and Imperial units, which at times seem very confusing. There is a lot of information on this book, thus this book is a good starting point to learn about thermodynamics.

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