General Thermodynamics

Because classical thermodynamics evolved into many branches of science and engineering, most undergraduate courses on the subject are taught from the perspective of each area of specialization. General Thermodynamics combines elements from mechanical and chemical engineering, chemistry (including electrochemistry), materials science, and biology to present a unique and thorough treatment of thermodynamics that is broader in scope than other fundamental texts.

This book contains classroom-tested materials designed to meet the academic requirements for students from a variety of scientific and engineering backgrounds in a single course. The first half focuses on classical concepts of thermodynamics, whereas the latter half explores field-specific applications, including a unique chapter on biothermodynamics.

The book’s methodology is unified, concise, and multidisciplinary, allowing students to understand how the principles of thermodynamics apply to all technical fields that touch upon this most fundamental of scientific theories. It also offers a rigorous approach to the quantitative aspects of thermodynamics, accompanied by clear explanations to help students transition smoothly from the physical concepts to their mathematical representations.

Each chapter contains numerous worked examples taken from different engineering applications, illustrations, and an extensive set of exercises to support the material. A complete solutions manual is available to professors with qualifying course adoptions.

Donald R. Olander has an A.B. in chemistry and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During the earlier era in the field of nuclear engineering when he was at MIT, Olander wrote his doctoral dissertation on the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels via solvent extraction. centrifuges and included an article in the Scientific American in 1978. Olander’s other major contribution to science was a paper entitled "The Large Cake-Cutting Problem," in which he presented a mathematical method for cutting large cakes that insured equal servings for all. It was published in the Journal of Irreproducible Results. In 1999, a collection of papers written for the occasion by his colleagues in the field of nuclear materials, former students, and postdocs was published in a special issue of the Journal of Nuclear Materials in his honor. In 2000, Professor Olander was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. He will retire in July 2008 after fifty years at the University of California.