An Introduction to Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics 2nd Edition by Keith Stowe (PDF)

Description

This introductory textbook for standard undergraduate courses in thermodynamics has been completely rewritten to explore a greater number of topics, more clearly and concisely. Starting with an overview of important quantum behaviours, the book teaches students how to calculate probabilities in order to provide a firm foundation for later chapters. It introduces the ideas of classical thermodynamics and explores them both in general and as they are applied to specific processes and interactions. The remainder of the book deals with statistical mechanics. Each topic ends with a boxed summary of ideas and results, and every chapter contains numerous homework problems, covering a broad range of difficulties. Answers are given to odd-numbered problems, and solutions to even-numbered problems are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9781107694927.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “a well-written textbook for introductory courses in thermodynamics. … The book has plenty of problems aimed at stimulating active learning by students, as well as being of great help to instructors. The summaries following the chapters are also important elements which facilitate learning.” – B.L. Granovsky, Mathematical Reviews”… a very good text for undergraduate students … very readable.” The Observatory Book Description An introductory textbook for standard undergraduate courses in thermodynamics, covering important quantum behaviours, classical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. About the Author Keith Stowe is the Professor of Physics at California Polytechnic State University, and has worked there for 32 years. He has spent time at the University of Washington, Harvard University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Michigan. As well as the first edition of Introduction to Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics he has written books on ocean science. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐One could be pardoned for thinking that thermodynamics ought to be easy: energy is conserved and that’s that. However, generations of physics and chemistry students know that the subject is one complication after another. This textbook is a splendid example of clarity and comprehensiveness. Synoptic through and through, it sets the formulas and equations of classical thermodynamics side by side so that the reader can grasp their interrelations rather than just isolated snippets applicable to special cases and depending on arbitrary assumptions. The book is organized in a logical fashion, yet the different parts can be studied independently. (What is standardly called the “zeroth law” is introduced rather late.) Pedagogically, the book is a model of sound practice: there are extremely clear summaries strategically located within chapters, and there are abundant well-designed problems. Combining both classical and quantum approaches in a rigorous yet not too forbidding way, this book covers it all.

⭐After a couple of years of looking around, I’m pretty much convinced this is the best introductory text on statistical mechanics. It assumes you know nothing and motivates every concept. The author is clear and easy to read, and often puts in physical examples as well as a wealth of figures and diagrams.I’d recommend this to any undergraduate, even if you are using another text. To a professor, on its own the text has enough material for a one semester course, but not year long. One notable deficiency in the text is a lack of diversity in homework problems — the difficulty is consistently too low, so the instructor will need to supplement additional problems.

⭐This is the best Thermo/Statmech book I have read. The author is clear and concise and builds on the subject in a way that makes the subject accessible. I wish I had used this book as a physics student, I feel I learned more about this subject from reading this book than I did from spending a quarter in a class on this subject. I very strongly recommend this book to any one interested in the subject, especially for students studying this subject.

⭐I wished there were books like this when I was an undergrad.The approach is very modern (via statistical mechanics) yet simple and very accessible.Stowe’s book exemplifies pedagogy. It is an excellent investment.The only complaint I have is the choice of glossy paper, which if your desk lighting is not well diffused, can be a minor annoyance.

⭐Perfect!

⭐Good price. Good delivery

⭐To put my review in perspective, I’m a second-semester senior physics major. We have to take Thermodynamics our last semester before graduation. It’s last on our curriculum, after Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, and everything else. My instructor decided to use Stowe’s book for our Thermodynamics class. While taking this course, I was concurrently auditing a graduate-level statistical mechanics course.Advantages: The book has short chapters, which make them easy to read in one sitting. There are also lots of diagrams and pictures. The buck stops here though.Disadvantages: First, the chapters aren’t numbered at the top of the page, making them very difficult to find when trying to study. Second, the figures aren’t always well explained even though they’re used very frequently in the exercises. Third, there are few exercises per chapter, and the ones that are given are rarely useful for the problems at the end of each chapter. Fourth, the problems in the text often assume the student knows more than the book covers. For instance, one problem in Ch. 18 can only be solved using Beta functions (per my instructor), yet the text never mentions them at all. Fifth, the problems seem to be designed like those annoying, calculator-needed introductory physics problems. The vast majority of problems are plug and chug, turn the crank problems where the student spends less time doing physics and more time doing unit conversions on his calculator. As a senior, I find this extremely annoying and condescending that the text assigns problems like these instead of more theoretical ones like every other higher-level physics class does. To make matters worse, the text has a horrible unit conversion chart that’s difficult to locate even though it’s needed for almost every problem.From a more pedagogical point of view, I personally disagree with the way the text covers the material. The text attempts to teach thermo by appealing to SM ideas as needed, and then later covering some basic SM toward the end of the book. I don’t find this method of learning either subject particularly helpful. In the graduate SM course I was auditing, we covered thermodynamics completely on its own before proceeding at all with SM. I found this method much more useful. Stowe meshes the two subjects together in a bizarre way. One chapter will be on thermo, then the next one will be on SM, then the next picking up where he left off with thermo. It’s extremely confusing from a learning point of view.Furthermore, the way he covers these two subjects really dilutes the material. He appeals to SM ideas from the beginning by introducing microstates, but he doesn’t progress beyond that idea until the end of the book. The partition function, as important and useful as it is, isn’t even introduced until Ch. 19. The canonical ensemble is barely covered, and the grand canonical ensemble isn’t covered at all. Regarding quantum statistics, he uses a lot of hand-waving to get around using quantum mechanics itself. The density matrix is never even mentioned when bringing up occupation numbers. It’s a whole lot of, “Well, just take my word for it.” I find this method of teaching SM didn’t help me understand the subject at all. Everything I learned about SM I learned from the Greiner and Pathria, not from Stowe.Because of this confusion, and the time spent trying to cover some parts of SM, we really got short-changed learning thermo itself. Sure, we learned the various laws, Maxwell’s relations, and what not, but apart from that I really don’t feel like we learned enough to put much of it to use. Engines were barely mentioned. Adiabatic processes (important for me since my research is in atmospheric physics) are barely covered. I don’t feel like we covered applications of thermo much at all really.But anyway, for instructors, I’d recommend another book. And please, please, don’t mesh the two subjects together like this. Teach them back to back, or just focus on thermo. For students, if you’re stuck with this book you’re stuck with it. If you can, get a copy of Greiner or Reif to read alongside. These books do a much better job I think of explaining both subjects. Just my two cents. Hope it helps.

⭐So intuitive. So clear. So perfect. If you read a review and see the sentence “hard to follow”, then I don’t know what can be better than this, honestly, this is the best book on the subject. It has plenty of problems. It has summaries that are REALLY helpful. Figures that make everything clear. It is simply perfect. I fell in love with the approach of this book. Give it a try, you’ll never find something better than this. Intuitive is the word I’ll use to describe this masterpiece.

⭐Clear and well written book.It covers both thermal n statistical mechs.A good choice if you are struggling with these topics.

⭐Nach zig Büchern über Thermodynamik, endlich ein Buch das wirklich den Anspruch erfüllt, Licht ins Dunkle zu bringen. Es ist eher eine theoretische Abhandlung, die Technik wird eher untergeordnet behandelt. Zentrale Elemente wie Entropie werden jedoch fabelhaft erklärt, nahezu einzigartig.Endlich versteht man, wie man den Begriff “Wärme” zu interpretieren hat.Für Studenten ist es wahrscheinlich ein ziemlicher Brocken. Wer jedoch den Anspruch hat nicht einfach Aufgaben (für Prüfungen) auswendig zu lernen, sondern wirklich zu verstehen, der kommt an einem Buch dieser Qualität nicht vorbei.Es ist eines meiner wichtigsten Bücher. Es ergänzt die allgemein mittelmäßigen Abhandlungen deutscher Autoren, ersetzt aber kein reines Buch über technische Thermodynamik bzw. Kältetechnik.Abschließend möchte ich noch meine Bewunderung über die Autoren äußern, die Herren Profs. haben sich ihr Geld wirklich verdient. Einfach exzellent, zerstört Frust ohne Ende.

⭐Not found.

⭐The figures and equations are frequently out of order and mislabeled, so it is almost impossible to use this e-Text. The derivations and examples make no sense because rather than displaying the correct equations, it will show you random unlabeled equations from 500 pages later in the book. Do not buy this e-Text until it’s fixed.

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