Statistical Thermodynamics

This introduction to statistical thermodynamics develops the theory of the thermodynamic behavior of macroscopic systems in terms of their atoms or molecules and describes some of its applications in detail with illustrative examples. The first part of the book provides background information. The second part presents the two main lines of the subject: the study of independent particles in an isolated system (which applies to simple systems), and the more powerful approach based on the concept of ensembles (which is necessary to account for systems of interacting particles). The third part gives details of seven classes of applications. Many examples and problems are included.