Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Physical Basis of Thermodynamics

With Applications to Chemistry

  • Book
  • © 2001

Overview

Authors:
  1. Pascal Richet

    1. Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Entropy and Principles

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 1-24

  3. Energies and Evolution Criteria

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 25-44

  4. Auxiliary Relations

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 45-56

  5. Observable Properties

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 57-86

  6. Equations of State

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 87-122

  7. Configurational Changes

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 123-158

  8. Criteria for Chemical Equilibrium

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 159-172

  9. Equilibrium and Chemical Potentials

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 173-196

  10. Phase Rule and Simple Univariant Equilibria

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 197-214

  11. Binary Phase Diagrams

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 215-244

  12. Solutions and Solution Models

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 245-283

  13. Equilibria in Electrolyte Solutions

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 285-311

  14. Basics of Statistical Mechanics

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 313-350

  15. Theoretical Calculations of Thermodynamic Properties

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 351-386

  16. Isotopic Equilibria

    • Pascal Richet
    Pages 387-402

  17. Back Matter

    Pages 403-442
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

Given that thermodynamics books are not a rarity on the market, why would an additional one be useful? The answer is simple: at any level, thermodynamics is usually taught as a somewhat abstruse discipline where many students get lost in a maze of difficult concepts. However, thermodynamics is not as intricate a subject as most people feel. This book fills a niche between elementary textbooks and mathematically oriented treatises, and provides readers with a distinct approach to the subject. As indicated by the title, this book explains thermodynamic phenomena and concepts in physical terms before proceeding to focus on the requisite mathematical aspects. It focuses on the effects of pressure, temperature and chemical composition on thermodynamic properties and places emphasis on rapidly evolving fields such as amorphous materials, metastable phases, numerical simulations of microsystems and high-pressure thermodynamics. Topics like redox reactions are dealt with in less depth, due to the fact that there is already much literature available. Without requiring a background in quantum mechanics, this book also illustrates the main practical applications of statistical thermodynamics and gives a microscopic interpretation of temperature, pressure and entropy.
This book is perfect for undergraduate and graduate students who already have a basic knowledge of thermodynamics and who wish to truly understand the subject and put it in a broader physical perspective. The book is aimed not at theoretical physicists, but rather at practitioners with a variety of backgrounds from physics to biochemistry for whom thermodynamics is a tool which would be better used if better understood.

Reviews

`From the first paragraph of the first chapter, this text informs the reader that he/she was lucky enough to find an excellent book to finally understand chemical thermodynamics. The level of writing is suitable for any audience whether undergraduate, graduate, or industry professional. The reader is not bombarded with overly mathematical and boring theoretical diatribe. Rather, it is as if five scientific copyeditors collaborated and approved each word as `the right way to explain things.' And, that is how the text comes across to the reader.'
Dawn Lee Wakefield, Texas A&M

Authors and Affiliations

  • Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France

    Pascal Richet

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation