Average customer rating:
- an invaluable reference!
- Russian School of Physics
- The BEST
- A masterpiece.
- ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON MACROSCOPIC ELECTRODYNAMICS!
|
Electrodynamics of Continuous Media, Second Edition: Volume 8 (Course of Theoretical Physics)
E M Lifshitz ,
L D Landau , and
L P Pitaevskii
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Thermodynamics
| Dynamics
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Electromagnetism
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Electromagnetic Theory
| Electrical & Electronics
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Electromagnetism
| Physics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Physics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Science Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Classical Theory of Fields, Fourth Edition: Volume 2 (Course of Theoretical Physics Series)
-
Statistical Physics (Course of Theoretical Physics, Volume 5)
-
Fluid Mechanics, Second Edition: Volume 6 (Course of Theoretical Physics)
-
Physical Kinetics (Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Social Studies) (Course of Theoretical Physics)
-
Quantum Electrodynamics, Second Edition: Volume 4
ASIN: 0750626348 |
Book Description
Covers the theory of electromagnetic fields in matter, and the theory of macroscopic electric and magnetic properties of matter. There is a considerable amount of new material particularly on the theory of the magnetic properties of matter and the theory
of optical phenomena with new chapters on spatial dispersion and non-linear optics.
Customer Reviews:
an invaluable reference!.......2006-07-18
What can I say? There are 9 copies of this book in the library of my university and 8 of them have been checked out. The only one left is a reserved copy. And right now it's in the middle of a summer vacation! So many things that I want to know can be found in this book: the difference between Kerr effect and Faraday effect, the magneto-electric tensor, magnetic symmetries of crystals... etc. The explanations are usually very compact but extremely clear. Once many years ago I was frustrated at being unable to find a "physicist's description" of the galvanic cell. Finally, after searching many books and papers, I found a most satisfying explanation, exactly the way I needed it, in this book. It is an invaluable "reference" (but not textbook) for researchers working on material science, light-matter interactions, and related fields.
Russian School of Physics.......2006-03-27
This book has few uses. The book is so abbreviated that you need two other books to understand it. The one useful feature of this book is the problems with solutions, but even those take a lot of deciphering.
The BEST.......2000-05-16
It the best. I mean the whole course. If you can read Russian buy the original book - they are very very cheap (hardbound): a couple of dollars.
A masterpiece........1998-10-02
In the beginning there was ether. Then Maxwell discovered his wonderful equations and Einstein, drawing inspiration therefrom, discovered Relativity. There was no longer an ether. Thank God! For, before, every electric, magnetic and optical phenomenon was supposed to be explained by properties of this ubiquitous ether. For a brilliant account of the physics of the ether, read "Aether", by Maxwell himself, at the Encyclopaedia Britannica (not the present edition: go to* and look at the Classics). Since Lorentz it became fashionable, and sensible, to, first, derive all properties of the electromagnetic fiel in vacuum, and, then, to introduce matter and the complications which appear (and which give rise to most of the beauty of the world). This wonderful book deals with these complications, and shows the beauties that come out of them. This is a high class text, the reader being supposed to know all of basic physics, including, of course, quantum mechanics. Thermodynamics is used lavishly for static or quasi-static situations, providing depth and cohesion. Did you know that you cannot, in this age of new materials, concoct one with electric permittivity (the familiar epsilon) smaller than one lest you violate the second law of thermodynamics? The chapter on electromagnetic waves is superb, with the best treatment of light dispersion to be found anywhere. Did you know that you cannot produce a transparent material which would disperse light in a different sequence of colours than that of the usual glass prism lest you violate causality? You have to read this book. Grab your copy while you can find it. One never knows.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON MACROSCOPIC ELECTRODYNAMICS!.......1998-07-24
This is the Volume 8 of the famous Course of Theoretical Physics by L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz. All serious students of theoretical physics must possess the ten volumes of this excellent Course, which cover in detail and rigour practically all the branches of theoretical physics. The Volume 8 treats the subject of the electromagnetic fields in matter, or the macroscopic electrodynamics. The book contains all the basic theory of macroscopic electrodynamics, discussing at the same time some more specialized and very interesting topics. The discussion is rigorous and very detailed, with clarity of exposition. There exists also in this book chapters not usually found in other similar books, such as the chapters on the dynamics of magnetic fluids, the theory of the interaction of fast particles with matter(for example, the Cerenkov radiation), the macroscopic theory of superconductivity and the theory of diffraction of X rays in crystals. There exists a little appendice! on curvilinear coordinates, which serves to auxiliate the reader in the mathematical calculations. Moreover, the authors discuss in a very elegant manner mathematical methods for solving problems in electrostatics, such as for example the method of conformal mapping. Certainly one of the best books on macroscopic electrodynamics!
Book Description
Praise for the First Edition:
"I recommend this book, without hesitation, as either a reference or course text...Wilks' excellent book provides a thorough base in applied statistical methods for atmospheric sciences."--BAMS (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society)
Fundamentally, statistics is concerned with managing data and making inferences and forecasts in the face of uncertainty. It should not be surprising, therefore, that statistical methods have a key role to play in the atmospheric sciences. It is the uncertainty in atmospheric behavior that continues to move research forward and drive innovations in atmospheric modeling and prediction.
This revised and expanded text explains the latest statistical methods that are being used to describe, analyze, test and forecast atmospheric data. It features numerous worked examples, illustrations, equations, and exercises with separate solutions. Statistical Methods in the Atmospheric Sciences, Second Edition will help advanced students and professionals understand and communicate what their data sets have to say, and make sense of the scientific literature in meteorology, climatology, and related disciplines.
* Presents and explains techniques used in atmospheric data summarization, analysis, testing, and forecasting
* Chapters feature numerous worked examples and exercises
* Model Output Statistic (MOS) includes an introduction to the Kalman filter, an approach that tolerates frequent model changes
* Detailed section on forecast verification, including statistical inference, diagrams, and other methods
New in this Edition:
* Expanded treatment of resampling tests within nonparametric tests
* Updated treatment of ensemble forecasting
* Expanded coverage of key analysis techniques, such as principle component analysis, canonical correlation analysis, discriminant analysis, and cluster analysis
* Careful updates and edits throughout, based on users' feedback
Customer Reviews:
A Godsend for Working Scientists.......2007-09-29
I judge the usefulness of a book by how quickly I can learn something new and apply it to the problem I am currently working on. Most statistics books, judged by this criteria, fail miserably. But here is a book that not only succeeds, but succeeds so well I actually find myself getting excited about reading the next chapter, which has nothing to do with the problem at hand! By confining himself to just a handful of simple data sets, Wilks makes it possible to work though the examples in detail and in a variety of ways. But the most important benefit to me is that I can immediately turn his examples into software code (I use IDL), which I can use to solve my problem. Unlike so many books, which provide the broad theoretical strokes, but leave the details in shadow, Wilks explains the details in simple, straightforward language. His explanation of harmonic analysis and FFT spectral analysis was so crystal clear I believe it was the first time I thought I truly understood this important concept. I can imagine there will be statisticians who will not like this book. But for those of us working with environmental data who need to know some statistics to get our work done, this book is a godsend.
Poor flow and presentation.......2007-05-13
This book is surely one of the worst statistical books in my library. If anyone is in need of a reference for some of the statistical methods commonly used in atmospheric sciences, I would suggest you look elsewhere
Very useful text and reference.......2006-03-10
Like the first edition, this book is an excellent and thorough overview of statistical methods used in the atmospheric sciences.
The main updates which are included in the second edition are the six final chapters (chapters 9-14) which cover multi-variate statistical methods as an expansion of that covered in one chapter of the first edition.
An excellent reference text for many geophysical researchers.
Book Description
This new and updated edition deals with all aspects of Monte Carlo simulation of complex physical systems encountered in condensed-matter physics, statistical mechanics, and related fields. After briefly recalling essential background in statistical mechanics and probability theory, it gives a succinct overview of simple sampling methods. The concepts behind the simulation algorithms are explained comprehensively, as are the techniques for efficient evaluation of system configurations generated by simulation. It contains many applications, examples, and exercises to help the reader and provides many new references to more specialized literature. This edition includes a brief overview of other methods of computer simulation and an outlook for the use of Monte Carlo simulations in disciplines beyond physics. This is an excellent guide for graduate students and researchers who use computer simulations in their research. It can be used as a textbook for graduate courses on computer simulations in physics and related disciplines.
Book Description
'This is an excellent book from which to learn the methods and results of statistical mechanics.' Nature 'A well written graduate-level text for scientists and engineers... Highly recommended for graduate-level libraries.' Choice
This highly successful text, which first appeared in the year 1972 and has continued to be popular ever since, has now been brought up-to-date by incorporating the remarkable developments in the field of 'phase transitions and critical phenomena' that took place over the intervening years. This has been done by adding three new chapters (comprising over 150 pages and containing over 60 homework problems) which should enhance the usefulness of the book for both students and instructors. We trust that this classic text, which has been widely acclaimed for its clean derivations and clear explanations, will continue to provide further generations of students a sound training in the methods of statistical physics.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Stat Mech Resource.......2007-07-31
I found this book to be incredibly lucid, especially in the sections about quantum statistics. Pathria actually taught my class and did acknowledge some of the archaic solutions one of the other reviewers mentioned. Despite this, however, I still felt the material was well organized and well presented. Excellent bedtime reading material!
The best graduate text on statistical mechanics you'll find.......2007-06-20
There are a number of lukewarm reviews of this textbook on this site, and few positive ones. I feel it deserves to be thrown into a better light, and will attempt to respond to some of these negative reviews.
First, I disagree wholeheartedly with the reviewer Fayngold. I find that this text is much more accessible than, for example, Huang. You do not need to be an expert in stat mech before picking up this book; rather, I found that it quite clearly elucidated the subject of stat mech in a pedagogical manner, and many of the derivations (for example, deriving the conditions for Bose-Einstein condensation) to be much shorter and simpler than those in other texts. Stat mech is by nature a very mathematical subject, and this is unavoidable (though Pathria did delegate much of the mathematical stuff -- like Guassian integrals, Gamma functions, etc -- to a few concise appendices). Perhaps the reviewer did not realize that this is a graduate level, rather than undergraduate, text book. I also disagree with the reviewer that this book is comprehensive (more on that below).
In response to many of the other reviewers, I think it's worth repeating: this is a graduate level textbook. Graduate texts, in my experience, rarely attempt to provide physical insight. Rather, they are focused on rigorously deriving the laws and equations that you need in order to perform physical calculations. I'm not saying I agree with this methodology, but it does seem to be the case more often than not. If you truly want to find a textbook that is a dense morass of mathematics, try Huang. Pathria is a breath of fresh air by comparison.
Prerequisite knowledge for this text would include at least an undergraduate class in quantum mechanics (familiarity with the operator notation, the operator version of Schrodinger's equation, as well as choice of space and momentum "representations") and an acquaintance with Hamilton's canonical equations (mainly the q and p variables). Without this background, much of the latter chapters might be hard to follow.
If you are looking for a gentler introduction to statistical mechanics, I can't recommend enough "Thermal Physics" by Kittel and Kroemer. This is the de facto standard for a first course in statistical mechanics. The only drawback I see with Kittel and Kroemer is that it is an entirely quantum-based approach to statistical mechanics, and that's not what everyone is looking for. Perhaps surprisingly, or perhaps not, the quantum approach does make the mathematics easier to follow (assuming a very passing acquaintance with quantum mechanics), since you deal only with sums rather than the more complicated integrals over phase space that are required for a classical treatment.
The Table of Contents is available above and gives a good overview of the topics covered in this book. It is a complete list of topics, though I found it lacking in a couple of ways. First, there is no mention of the Boltzmann Transport Equation. For this, I recommend borrowing Huang or another text from the library. And second, there is not an in-depth treatment of the Debye theory of phonons, though I have to admit it is as good as any I've seen.
I can't speak to the problems in this text, because I have not attempted them.
Overall, I think this is the best graduate level book in statistical mechanics that I've come across, far superior to Huang or Reichl. Feynman's and Landau's books, though dated, are also worth looking into, because it's hard to beat the master instructors of physics. From my conversations with other graduate students, I think most agree that this is one of the best graduate level stat mech books out there.
good reference but mediocre textbook.......2004-08-29
The book is very comprehensive, discusses all topics in Stat Mech and contains all the formulas you'll need. Unfortunately, it often neglects to mention the physical conditions for which this or that formula was derived. Reading the bood quickly becomes an exercise in mathematics. The problems are very hard and the student looking for a way to approach the problems will find no clue in the book whatsoever. Convenient for professors. Students who want to pass the course should look elsewhere for the discussion of the appropriate solution methods. Reading will be pleasant for those who already have a rock-solid understanding of Stat Mech. All the others will be left in the dust. Buy this book if it's a required text, if you want a good reference, or if you think you can solve any problem on Stat Mech. Read some other book first to understand the physics involved.
Good explanations, but a couple of small problems.......2003-10-22
I'm currently reading this book. So far the material has been well-presented in a logical form. The book comprehensively covers the basics, and discusses a few more modern topics too.
Just a few *small* gripes though. Firstly I find the equation numbering somewhat confusing. Secondly, some of the exercises are a nightmare simply because they are not well stated. Thus, although some exercises add considerably to my understanding - as they should - some take an annoyingly long time to figure out what is meant.
Another bad stat. mech. book.......2003-02-13
I think the only reason professors use this book is because it has hard problems and all the major topics seem to be listed in the chapter headings. Unfortunately, there are major sections of this book where the author derives equation after equation to get to a final result in the most archaic method imaginable. This makes it very hard to read this book. Good luck on trying to pull out the important stuff! There are very few worked out examples, and insight is generally sparse. Certainly not a book for just looking things up, or using in a class either.
Book Description
This invaluable book explores the delicate interplay between geometry and statistical mechanics in materials such as microemulsions, wetting and growth interfaces, bulk lyotropic liquid crystals, chalcogenide glasses and sheet polymers, using tools from the fields of polymer physics, differential geometry, field theory and critical phenomena. Several chapters have been updated relative to the classic 1989 edition. Moreover, there are now three entirely new chapters — on effects of anisotropy and heterogeneity, on fixed connectivity membranes and on triangulated surface models of fluctuating membranes.
Book Description
A reissue of a classic book, corrected, edited, and typeset, to be published in the Biological Physics Series. Intended for undergraduate courses in biophysics, biological physics, physiology, medical physics, and biomedical engineering, this book is an introduction to statistical physics with examples and problems from the medical and biological sciences. Topics include the elements of the theory of probability, Poisson statistics, thermal equilibrium, entropy and free energy, and the second law of thermodynamics. Chapters include problems and references. The book can be used as a supplement to standard introductory physics courses, and as a text for medical schools, medical physics courses, and biology departments. The three volumes combined present all the major topics in physics. Originally published in 1974 from the authors's typescript, this reissue will be edited, corrected, typeset, the art redrawn, and an index added. These books are being reissued by Springer in the Biological Physics Series in response to frequent requests to provide these texts to satisfy the growing need among students and practitioners in the medical and biological sciences with a working knowledge of the physical sciences. The books are also in demand in physics departments either as supplements to traditional intro texts or as main text for those departments offering courses with biological or medical physics orientation. A solutions manual will be available. The authors are recognized experts in the field, and are under contract for an upperlevel/grad text in biological physics. Benedeck was the recepient of the 1995 Irving Lanmuir Prize from the American Physical Society for Chemical Physics, and the 1994 Biological Physics Prize by the American Physical Society.
Average customer rating:
- introduction to stat mech
|
Statistical Physics - Second Edition (Physics and Its Applications, Vol 9)
A.M. Guénault
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Probability & Statistics
| Applied
| Mathematics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Entropy
| Physics
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Statistics
| Applied
| Mathematics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Physics
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Professional & Technical
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Thermal Physics, Second Edition (Physics and Its Applications)
ASIN: 0412579200 |
Book Description
In this new edition of an established text Tony Guénault provides a clear and refreshingly readable introduction to statistical physics, an essential component of any first degree in physics. The treatment itself is self-contained and concentrates on an understanding of the physical ideas, without requiring a high level of mathematical sophistication.
A straightforward quantum approach to statistical averaging is adopted from the outset (easier, the author believes, than the classical approach). The initial part of the book is geared towards explaining the equilibrium properties of a simple isolated assembly of particles. Thus, several important topics, for example an ideal spin-½ solid, can be discussed at an early stage. The treatment of gases gives full coverage to Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics.
Towards the end of the book the student is introduced to a wider viewpoint and new chapters are included on chemical thermodynamics, interactions in, for example, liquid helium-3 and helium-4, and statistics under extreme conditions (superconductivity and astrophysical systems).
Tony Guénault is Emeritus Professor of Low Temperature Physics and a former Head of the School of Physics and Materials at Lancaster University, UK
Customer Reviews:
introduction to stat mech.......2000-11-15
This is a very clear, though limited, exposition of statistical mechanics. The approach is ground up, from statistical considerations of very simplified systems, generalizations, and subsequent consideration of more complicated systems. I found it interesting that the author chose to consider everything from a purely quantum point of view. And (un)surprisingly, certain calculations become substantially easier to perform. The reader will gain an extremely solid understanding of why the microcanonical and canonical distributions are the way they are. Applications of canonical ensemble theory fill the book. Some examples that come to mind are ortho/para hydrogen gas, BE condensation, cooling by magnetization. For the more advanced reader, there are gaps in motivating certain details. In particular, there is no connection drawn between classical mechanics and kinetic theory and statistical mechanics. Although the lack of which is a debatable subject. I recommend this book because of it's highly focused (quantum), logical approach, that provides a strong framework in stat mech for beginning physics students.
Book Description
Since the publication of
Random Matrices (Academic Press, 1967) so many new results have emerged both in theory and in applications, that this edition is almost completely revised to reflect the developments. For example, the theory of matrices with quaternion elements was developed to compute certain multiple integrals, and the inverse scattering theory was used to derive asymptotic results. The discovery of Selberg's 1944 paper on a multiple integral also gave rise to hundreds of recent publications.
This book presents a coherent and detailed analytical treatment of random matrices, leading in particular to the calculation of n-point correlations, of spacing probabilities, and of a number of statistical quantities. The results are used in describing the statistical properties of nuclear excitations, the energies of chaotic systems, the ultrasonic frequencies of structural materials, the zeros of the Riemann zeta function, and in general the characteristic energies of any sufficiently complicated system. Of special interest to physicists and mathematicians, the book is self-contained and the reader need know mathematics only at the undergraduate level.
Key Features
* The three Gaussian ensembles, unitary, orthogonal, and symplectic; their n-point correlations and spacing probabilities
* The three circular ensembles: unitary, orthogonal, and symplectic; their equivalence to the Gaussian
* Matrices with quaternion elements
* Integration over alternate and mixed variables
* Fredholm determinants and inverse scattering theory
* A Brownian motion model of the matrices
* Computation of the mean and of the variance of a number of statistical quantities
* Selberg's integral and its consequences
Customer Reviews:
The canonical book of random matrices.......2000-04-14
Mehta's book is the book that gets refered to in every article that deals with random matrices. It covers classical theory of random matrices well, but omits many important developments such as chiral random matrices. 'Random matrices' is somewhat pricey but it is nevertheless the best book there is on theory of random matrices. Unfortunately.
Books:
- Error Control Coding, Second Edition
- Examkrackers: 1001 Questions in MCAT in Physics
- Experimental Techniques: Cryostat Design, Material Properties and Superconductor Critical-Current Testing
- Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days
- Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
- Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer
- Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer
- Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer
- Galois Theory (Universitext)
- Geometry, Spinors and Applications (Springer Praxis Books / Mathematics)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Family Math : The Middle School Years, Algebraic Reasoning and Number Sense
- Call of the Great Spirit: The Shamanic Life and Teachings of Medicine Grizzly Bear
- When the Stars Danced
- 1984
- Bad Boy: A Memoir
- Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth
- Beyond the Killing Tree: A Journey of Discovery
- Make It So You Don't Have to Fake It!: 55 Fast-Acting Strategies for Long-Lasting Success
- Working Together: 12 Principles for Achieving Excellence in Managing Projects, Teams, and Organizati
- Winning the Global Game: A Strategy for Linking People and Profits
