Statistical Mechanics: A Concise Introduction for Chemists

by B. Widom

• ISBN13: 9780521009669
• ISBN10: 0521009669
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-05-03
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Statistical mechanics is the theoretical apparatus used to study the properties of macroscopic systems - systems made up of many atoms or molecules - and relates those properties to the system's microscopic constitution. This book is an introduction to statistical mechanics, intended to be used either by advanced undergraduates or by beginning graduate students. The first chapter deals with statistical thermodynamics and aims to quickly derive the most commonly used formulas in the subject. The remainder of the book then illustrates the application of these formulas in traditional areas such as the ideal gas and less traditional areas such as the quantum ideal gas. Highly illustrated with numerous exercises and worked solutions, it provides a concise, up-to-date treatise of statistical mechanics ideal for use on an 8-12 lecture course.

Author Biography

Benjamin Widom is Goldwin Smith Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University. His research specialty is statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, particularly as applied to problems of phase equilibria, critical phenomena, and interfacial structure and thermodynamics.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
The Boltzmann distribution law and statistical thermodynamics	1	(15)
Nature and aims of statistical mechanics	1	(1)
The Boltzmann distribution law	2	(4)
The partition function and statistical thermodynamics	6	(10)
The ideal gas	16	(31)
Boltzmann statistics	16	(5)
Translational partition function	21	(6)
Vibrational partition function	27	(4)
Rotational partition function; ortho- and para-hydrogen	31	(10)
The ``law'' of the equipartition of energies	41	(2)
Partition function with excited electronic states	43	(4)
Chemical equilibrium in ideal-gas mixtures	47	(8)
Thermodynamic preliminaries; the equilibrium constant	47	(2)
Equilibrium constants from partition functions	49	(6)
Ideal harmonic solid and black-body radiation	55	(14)
Ideal harmonic crystal	55	(2)
Rayleigh-Jeans law	57	(5)
Debye theory of the heat capacity of solids	62	(4)
Black-body radiation	66	(3)
The Third law	69	(12)
Nernst heat theorem in thermodynamics	69	(2)
Third law in statistical mechanics	71	(4)
Comparison with experiment	75	(6)
The non-ideal gas	81	(20)
Virial coefficients	81	(2)
Intermolecular forces	83	(4)
Second virial coefficient from statistical mechanics	87	(11)
Long-range forces	98	(3)
The liquid state	101	(32)
Structure of liquids	101	(5)
Equation of state of a liquid	106	(8)
Computer simulation: molecular dynamics	114	(13)
Computer simulation: Monte Carlo	127	(6)
Quantum ideal gases	133	(36)
Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics versus Boltzmann statistics	133	(5)
The grand-canonical partition function	138	(5)
Grand partition function of the quantum ideal gases	143	(12)
The ideal gas in Fermi-Dirac statistics	155	(7)
The ideal gas in Bose-Einstein statistics	162	(7)
Index	169