Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics: Developed with Especial Reference to the Rational Foundation of Thermodynamics

Gibbs, J. Willard

ISBN 10: 0486607070 / ISBN 13: 9780486607078

Published by Dover Publications, Inc, New York, 1960

About this Item

207 Pages plus a Fifteen Page Catalogue of Dover Science Books. Covers tend to curl up a bit and there is a previous owner's name label on the front endpaper. Interior text pages are flawless. This Dover edition, first published in 1960, is an unabridged and unaltered republication of the work originally published by Yale University Press in 1902. This is the last work of J. Willard Gibbs, the most distinguished American mathematical physicist of his day. Gibbs, whose Phase Rule founded a new department of physical science, undertakes in this work one of the first independent developments of statistical mechanics ever published. Still one of the most fundamental treatments of the subject available, this was perhaps the first book to bring together and arrange in logical order the achievements in this subject of Clausius, Maxwell, Boltzmann, and Gibbs himself. It remains a lucid text for advanced students and a valuable collection of fundamental equations and principles for workers in the field. The author begins by considering the general problem and the fundamental equation of statistical mechanics. He develops the basic principle of conservation of probability of phase, and then applies this principle to the theory of errors in the calculated phase: of a system and to the integration of the differential equations of motion. Gibbs goes or to consider canonical distribution and the average energy values in a canonical ensemble of systems. Later chapters provide formulas for evaluating important functions of the energies of system; equations defining the energy function ¢; and the microcanonical distribution in phase (in which all the systems have the same energy). Maximum and minimum properties of distribution in phase are discussed and a method developed for determining the motion of systems through long periods of time. The final chapters provide a valuable comparison of statistical mechanics with thermodynamics. Various mechanical processes analogous to such thermodynamic processes as Carnot's cycle are discussed and their effect on various systems studied. The author develops mechanical definitions of entropy and temperature in this section in order to provide a rational foundation for thermodynamics. Unabridged republication of 1902 edition.

Seller Inventory # 16648

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics: Developed with Especial Reference to the Rational Foundation of Thermodynamics
• Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 1960
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0486607070
• ISBN 13: 9780486607078
• Binding: Trade Paperback
• Edition: First Dover Edition
• Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

HIGH QUALITY FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION: Gibbs, J. Willard (Josiah Willard): Elementary Principles In Statistical Mechanics : Developed With Especial Reference To The Rational Foundation Of Thermodynamics : Facsimile: Originally published by New York : C. Scribner in 1902. Book will be printed in black and white, with grayscale images. Book will be 6 inches wide by 9 inches tall and soft cover bound. Any foldouts will be scaled to page size. If the book is larger than 1000 pages, it will be printed and bound in two parts. Due to the age of the original titles, we cannot be held responsible for missing pages, faded, or cut off text.

Book Description

Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) was the greatest American mathematician and physicist of the nineteenth century. He was a pioneer of vector analysis, but his deepest work was in the development of thermodynamics and statistical physics. This book, first published in 1902, gives his mature vision of these subjects.