Statistical Physics of Fluids: Basic Concepts and Applications (Theoretical and Mathematical Physics)

This book grew out of the senior level lecture course I teach at Delft Univer­ sity and which I have taught in recent years at Eindhoven University and the University of Utrecht. Numerous discussions with students and colleagues led me to the conclusion that in spite of the existence of excellent books on the statistical theory of fluids, there is a gap between the fundamental theory and application of its concepts and techniques to practical problems. This book is an attempt to at least partially fill it. It is not intended to be a thorough and comprehensive review of liquid state theory, which would inevitably require invoking a large number of re­ sults without actual derivation. Rather I prefer to focus on the main physical ideas and mathematical methods of fluid theory, starting with the basic prin­ ciples of statistical mechanics, and present a detailed derivation of results accompanied by an explanation of their physical meaning. The same ap­ proach applies to several specialized topics of the liquid state, most of which are recent developments and belong to the areas of my own activities and thus reflect my personal taste. Wherever possible, theoretical predictions are compared with available experimental and simulation data.

The book focuses on the main physical ideas and mathematical methods of the microscopic theory of fluids, starting with the basic principles of statistical mechanics. The detailed derivation of results is accompanied by explanation of their physical meaning. The same approach refers to several specialized topics of the liquid state, most of which are recent developments, such as: a perturbation approach to the surface tension, an algebraic perturbation theory of polar nonpolarizable fluids and ferrocolloids, a semi-phenomenological theory of the Tolman length and some others. The book addresses researchers as well as graduate students in physics and chemistry with research interests in the statistical physics of fluids.