Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The amount of time devoted to thermodynamics in many undergraduate courses has been reduced in recent years as newer subjects crowd the curriculum. One possible solution is to concentrate on a microscopic, statistical approach, and present the laws of thermodynamics as a by-product of statistical mechanics. However, the macroscopic approach is valid and satisfying in its own right and represents one of the great achievements of classical physics. This introduction to thermodynamics presents both macroscopic and microscopic approaches to the subject. Reidi introduces each area separately and then examines a number of selected topics from both points of view, presenting the strengths and weaknesses of each. This text thus provides a balanced discussion of thermal physics that will form a useful basis for further studies of the properties of matter, whether from a thermodynamic or a statistical point of view.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Part 1 Thermodynamics
• 1 First Law of Thermodynamics
• 2 Second Law of Thermodynamics
• 3 Further Concepts of Thermodynamics
• 4 Further Applications of Thermodynamics
• Part 2 Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics
• 5 Weakly Coupled Systems
• 6 Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics
• Part 3 Kinetic Theory
• 7 Kinetic Theory of Cases I
• 8 Kinetic Theory of Cases II
• Part 4 Applications of Thermodynamics and Statistical Methods
• 9 Further Applications