Book Description

This revised edition provides understanding of the basic physical, chemical, and aerodynamic processes associated with gas turbine combustion and their relevance and application to combustor performance and design.Also introduced are many new concepts for ultra-low emissions combustors, and new advances in fuel preparation and liner wall-cooling techniques for their success.It details advanced and practical approaches to combustor design for the clean burning of alternative liquid fuels derived form oil shades, tar sands, and coal. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Don't search for more
The best about Gas Turbine Combustion.. very understandable and enjoyable.. do not look for more ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive and rigorous introduction to thermal system design from a contemporary perspective

Thermal Design and Optimization offers readers a lucid introduction to the latest methodologies for the design of thermal systems and emphasizes engineering economics, system simulation, and optimization methods. The methods of exergy analysis, entropy generation minimization, and thermoeconomics are incorporated in an evolutionary manner.

This book is one of the few sources available that addresses the recommendations of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology for new courses in design engineering. Intended for classroom use as well as self-study, the text provides a review of fundamental concepts, extensive reference lists, end-of-chapter problem sets, helpful appendices, and a comprehensive case study that is followed throughout the text.

Contents include:

• Introduction to Thermal System Design
• Thermodynamics, Modeling, and Design Analysis
• Exergy Analysis
• Heat Transfer, Modeling, and Design Analysis
• Applications with Heat and Fluid Flow
• Applications with Thermodynamics and Heat and Fluid Flow
• Economic Analysis
• Thermoeconomic Analysis and Evaluation
• Thermoeconomic Optimization

Thermal Design and Optimization offers engineering students, practicing engineers, and technical managers a comprehensive and rigorous introduction to thermal system design and optimization from a distinctly contemporary perspective. Unlike traditional books that are largely oriented toward design analysis and components, this forward-thinking book aligns itself with an increasing number of active designers who believe that more effective, system-oriented design methods are needed.

Thermal Design and Optimization offers a lucid presentation of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics as they are applied to the design of thermal systems. This book broadens the scope of engineering design by placing a strong emphasis on engineering economics, system simulation, and optimization techniques. Opening with a concise review of fundamentals, it develops design methods within a framework of industrial applications that gradually increase in complexity. These applications include, among others, power generation by large and small systems, and cryogenic systems for the manufacturing, chemical, and food processing industries.

This unique book draws on the best contemporary thinking about design and design methodology, including discussions of concurrent design and quality function deployment. Recent developments based on the second law of thermodynamics are also included, especially the use of exergy analysis, entropy generation minimization, and thermoeconomics. To demonstrate the application of important design principles introduced, a single case study involving the design of a cogeneration system is followed throughout the book.

In addition, Thermal Design and Optimization is one of the best new sources available for meeting the recommendations of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology for more design emphasis in engineering curricula.

Supported by extensive reference lists, end-of-chapter problem sets, and helpful appendices, this is a superb text for both the classroom and self-study, and for use in industrial design, development, and research. A detailed solutions manual is available from the publisher. ... Read more

Book Description

This unique volume introduces the reader to the mathematical language for complex systems and is ideal for students who are starting out in the study of stochastical dynamical systems. Unlike other books in the field it covers a broad array of stochastic and statistical methods. ... Read more

Book Description

Linear and Nonlinear Programming is considered a classic textbook in Optimization. While it is a classic, it also reflects modern theoretical insights. These insights provide structure to what might otherwise be simply a collection of techniques and results, and this is valuable both as a means for learning existing material and for developing new results. One major insight of this type is the connection between the purely analytical character of an optimization problem, expressed perhaps by properties of the necessary conditions, and the behavior of algorithms used to solve a problem. This was a major theme of the first edition of this book and the second edition expands and further illustrates this relationship.Linear and Nonlinear Programming covers the central concepts of practical optimization techniques. It is designed for either self-study by professionals or classroom work at the undergraduate or graduate level for technical students. Like the field of optimization itself, which involves many classical disciplines, the book should be useful to system analysts, operations researchers, numerical analysts, management scientists, and other specialists from the host of disciplines from which practical optimization applications are drawn. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A book on mathematics that also an engineer can read
I have profitably used the book to apply constrained minimization procedures in the field of computational contact mechanics. I think it is not a secret that quite often books on mathematics are written from matematicians for matematicians. Hence it is quite hard for engineers both to read and to extract valuable information from them. With this respect this book is a shining star. It presents the topics in a very precise but clear and understandable way. Moreover the notation also is the best compromise between coinciseness and clarity. Matematicians, please, look at this book and follow such style; we engineer desperately need to communicate with you.

A necessary book for all who want to read and learn!
I have the 1977 edition from my father's MIT days. I am a Mathematician and I can verify that the book written in 1977 is of the same style that good books have today! A book is not made obsolete because some new "elegant" terms arise. Ok Luenberger did not know about Interior Point Algorithms and to tell you the truth why should he? I do not know other editions but in the first edition in chapter 7 "Basic Descent Methods" everyone who is able to read clearly and unbiased the second paragraph will agree with me that Interion Point Algorithms IS NOTHING NEW in the theory of MATHEMATICS!!! What you need to know ,the magic, is in the chapters 7-11. From there you can read everything else you like and get in touch with what is about to come in the next 25 years(See Ye : "Interion Point Algorithms"). But remember you are already in stars before reading the new books...

Good introduction
Nice introduction to linear programming, but new standard definitions have already arrived, making many "good books" obsolete. The book sometimes isn't very clear and should be more explicit and should give more examples. ... Read more

Book Description

First published in 1967, Professor Batchelor's classic work is still one of the foremost texts on fluid dynamics. His careful presentation of the underlying theories of fluids is still timely and applicable, even in these days of almost limitless computer power. This reissue ensures that a new generation of graduate students experiences the elegance of Professor Batchelor's writing. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Fair introduction
Good introduction of many ideas in fluid mechanics. Good for reference, but it is not a good book for learning the subject. If in fact you happen to have a solid math background you may find it very boring but still has many references to more useful sources.

Good introduction
This book introduces lots of stuffs. I will consider it
as reference purpose. Not that good for learning, especially
for beginners. If one has another book as textbook already,
with this book, he can have more comprehensive thinkings
about fluid dynamics. It's a good book right on from
textbooks to special-purposed books.

Great "introduction" to those well-versed in the subject
If you get through this text, you are on your way to fluid dynamics mastery. It covers much more than most engineering students will need (or care to) know. It is an important text, but should be a complementary study aid.

The best introduction
I used Batchelor several years ago for an introductory course in fluid dynamics for physic students, and found it generally satisfactory. It is probably the best available overall introduction. The negative review from the Berkeley student reflects more upon the student than upon the book, in my opinion.

To the Berkeley graduate student below
Although I do think that the book is over-rated, your critique is unfair. First, the book is not too advanced. Similar materials are used to teach university students in their 3rd or 4th year of studies, sometimes even earlier, in many countries. If you are not able to grasp the basic, how are you going to read the current papers in journals? How are you going to contribute new knowledge? It's better to start early with a young mind. Then, it is not a reference book (I don't need to say more in this). Also, you may be in the wrong course, or your professor suggested an unsuitable, but not necessarily bad, book for reading. The book was written with applied mathematics (you can surf around the net and see what applied mathematics means in the UK) courses in mind. You may find Lighthill's 'An informal introduction to theoretical fluid mechanics' or Tritton's 'Physical fluid dynamics' or Faber's 'Fluid dynamics for physicists' useful. Finally, I have confidence in the ability of a Berkeley student. You maybe smart, but you need to work hard too, very hard! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

If you want to code heat/mass transfer/fluid flow, buy this
This is extraordinarily well-written for anyone who knows a little bit about heat transfer, mass transfer, or fluid flow and wants to write a mathematical model to perform calculations in 1D, 2D or 3D. (Also works for electromagnetic equations of the same form--used it for my doctoral thesis.) It's very practically oriented, with clear explanations and good diagrams showing how the grid layout translates into code.

A fundamental book on CFD
This is one of the ground breaking texts. I purchased a copy on the recommendation of a collegue (who has worked in the field for a while) when I started in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

I found the book a little bit difficult to get into. Having spent more time working through CFD problems, it all now makes sense - although I would recommend beginners to find something else more recent (such as An introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: The finite volume method by Versteeg & Malalasekera) that has some of the more recent developments in the field.

It is still an invaluable reference to have on your bookshelf as it covers the fundamentals of CFD.

excellent
A very good book to start learnig about CFD and an excellent book to everyone that works with CFD.

Best and most convincing exposition of numerical techniques
This book should be the first one you want to read on numerical modelling of fluid flow and heat transfer. The book is developed in the context of the author's SIMPLER methodology of analyzing incompressible flow but the derived insights from the explanation will be invaluable for any serious computational fluid dynamicist. The single most positive factor about this book is that it's concise and to the point and everything is described from a very physical and tangible perspective. ... Read more

Book Description

Emphasizing learning through problem solving, Donald Greenwood analyzes in detail the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to dynamics. He describes techniques that will improve computational efficiency considerably, especially when applied to complex dynamical systems. A key feature of his text is the inclusion of many proven examples and homework problems. The book is intended for use in graduate courses on dynamics and will appeal to practicing mechanical and aerospace engineers. ... Read more

Book Description

The messageof this book is that biophysics is the science of physical principles underlaying the "phenomenon life" on all levels of organization. Rather than teaching "physics for biologists" or "physical methods applied to biology", it regards it's subject as a defined discipline with its own network of ideas and approaches.

The book statrs by explaining molecular and supramolecular structures of biological systems, various kinds of atomic, molecularand ionic inter actions movements, energy transfer, slef organization of supramolecular structures and dynamic properties of biological membranes. It then goes onto introduce the biological organism as a non-equilibrium system, before treating thermodynamic concepts of osmotic and electrolyte equilibria , currents and potential profiles as well as mechanical and electrical properties of biological materials. Further treated are topics of environmental biophysics and such medical aspects as the influence of electromagnetic fields or radiation on living systems and the biophysics of hearing and noise protection.

The book concludes with a discussion of system analysis, including models of neural processes as well as of ecological interactions, growth, differentation and evolution. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent starting for Biophysics
This book is written by a biologist. However, the author discussed lots of physics topics closely related to basic biological phenomena. The most important role of this book, I believe, is making the bridge between physics and biology as well as biochemistry. Untill now, most of biophyiscs text books have been a kind of biochemsitry text book like ones. This one is distingusihed from those. This is also good for biochemistry student who wants to study physical aspects of biological system beyond the scope of biochemistry. Some parts of this book might be difficult for biology and biochemistry students but surely deserves to be read.

Influence of the gravedad
I need to buy this book, because I'm Physics Teachear at the Huamanga University- Ayacucho, Perú. Nowadays, I have class with Biology Faculty, and I need to work with this book, so I need to know the differents chapters too. Thanks a lot Your friend Lic. Juan Pesantes Rojas Bye ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive account of the modern theory for the dynamical properties of polymer solutions. The theory has undergone dramatic evolution over the last two decades due to the introduction of new methods and concepts that have extended the frontier of theory from dilute solutions in which polymers move independently to concentrated solutions where many polymers converge.Among the properties examined are viscoelasticity, diffusion, dynamic light scattering, and electric birefringence. Nonlinear viscoelasticity is discussed in detail on the basis of molecular dynamical models.The book bridges the gap between classical theory and new developments, creating a consistent picture of polymer solution dynamics over the entire concentration range. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Classic
Excellent book: but to grasp everything one will need to read through a few simpler texts first, say Scaling Concepts by de Gennes, Introduction to Polymer Physics by Doi, some Rheology book say Viscoelastic properties of Polymers by Ferry and Polymer Solutions by I Teraoka.

Very good, but not for beginners
This book is excellent, there is maybe none better that gets into the fundamentals of polymer motion. A warning: I read two or three other textbooks before I could understand this one.

A must for the best.
This book is great. It clearifies many ideas about polymer dynamics. If you want to understand more about this area, there is no better book to start with. But be careful, it was not designed for beginners. This is really great ... Read more

Book Description

Recent advances in the study of dynamical systems have revolutionized the way that classical mechanics is taught and understood. This new and comprehensive textbook provides a complete description of this fundamental branch of physics. The authors cover all the material that one would expect to find in a standard graduate course: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, canonical transformations, the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, perturbation methods, and rigid bodies. They also deal with more advanced topics such as the relativistic Kepler problem, Liouville and Darboux theorems, and inverse and chaotic scattering. A key feature of the book is the early introduction of geometric (differential manifold) ideas, as well as detailed treatment of topics in nonlinear dynamics (such as the KAM theorem) and continuum dynamics (including solitons). Over 200 homework exercises are included. It will be an ideal textbook for graduate students of physics, applied mathematics, theoretical chemistry, and engineering, as well as a useful reference for researchers in these fields. A solutions manual is available exclusively for instructors. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Classical Dynamics, a Horrible Approach
I would give this negative five stars if it were possible. I don't know where these other reviewers are getting the idea that this is a nice book on the subject -- it is unclear to the point where one could only guess that it was intended to confuse the reader, even on the basic material. Chapter 1 is basically all of Marion/Thornton, with an explanation that will serve to reverse one's understanding of these fundamental concepts. I would recommend Goldstein instead, even though it is only marginally better. This is yet another piece of junk which is sure to further reduce the population of physics students. If you are a typical sadistic, elitist professor who wishes to destroy the confidence of your students, then you should require this text.

The New Goldstein
If you have no exposure to Classical Mechanics or if you starting new then DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. This book is of advance nature. Books like Arya, Hauser or Corben are simpler.

The book starts with the basics, wraps up Newtonian Mechanics in the first chapter. The next five chapters deal in detail with Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations and their applications. They discuss some difficult topics like "Tangent Bundle" "Tangent Spaces" and "lie groups". "Noether's theorem" is also included which I have not seen in many Classical Mechanics books.There are many worked out examples which help the reader understand the subject.The explanations are quite lucid.There are plently of excercises to do but no answers to problems!

A Contemporary Textbook on Mechanics
This book offers all the standard text used in undergraduate mechanics courses plus a number of more contemporary topics such as Lie derivatives, manifolds and much on nonlinear dynamical systems, all in a language appropriate for a Physics book. I consider it to be the modern equivalent of classics like the books by Goldstein or Marion. The material of this book should be the new standard for modern Classical Mechanics courses.

An excellent book on a fundamental subject
Classical mechanics often falls by the wayside in a modern physics curriculum. However, there are times when an understanding of subtle issues in this field are simply necessary for progress in current research directions. At times like these, one is all-too-often forced to turn to older texts such as Goldstein or directly to the literature of a field with which one is rarely intimately familiar. It is therefore a great pleasure to find a text such as Jose and Saletan's, a highly modern, extremely complete and very readable textbook on mechanics at an advanced level.

The book covers all of the standard topics of a graduate mechanics course (Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, rigid bodies, etc.) as well as more modern topics such as chaotic dynamics. All these subjects are treated in great detail and both in very physical and very formal languages. Most importantly, all of these discussions (including the formal ones!) are packed with completely worked examples which allow one to begin to use these techniques without attempting to decipher formal proofs.

The breadth of topics covered and the quality of the writing make this book a valuable addition to any physicist's workbench.

Terrific book!
This book combines the standard topics covered in a Goldstein-type course; but in a fresh light. Using techniques of modern geometry, presented in an understandable way, it explores not just the solutions of dynamical equations, but the behavior of those solutions over the manifold in which they operate. The book begins by applying this geometry to well established Newtonian mechanics. Once you have that under your belt you are propelled into the Lagrangian formulation in a way that seems quite natural and reveals, easily, the symmetries that lay within. This book is written in a tight and readable style that makes even the most difficult concepts accessable. I highly recommend it and hope that it becomes the standard by which other mechanics texts of this level are measured. ... Read more

Book Description

The only text to cover both thermodynamic and statistical mechanics--allowing students to fully master thermodynamics at the macroscopic level. Presents essential ideas on critical phenomena developed over the last decade in simple, qualitative terms. This new edition maintains the simple structure of the first and puts new emphasis on pedagogical considerations. Thermostatistics is incorporated into the text without eclipsing macroscopic thermodynamics, and is integrated into the conceptual framework of physical theory. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Insightful Postulational Approach to Thermodynamics
Why did I buy an older thermodynamics text, one first published in 1960? I trust the advice of other Amazon reviewers.

They say: 1) The best treatment of classical thermodynamics that I have seen. The chapters on phase transitions are excellent and the mechanical model used to illustrate critical phenomena is brilliant. 2) It is far better than most books on the subject. 3) I think this book has no competition as a text in thermodynamics. It is the ideal preparation for a book like Landau's Statistical Physics. 4) The overview of the fundamentals of thermodynamics is without rival. 5) I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics, which to me is quite boring and clumsy.

A few reviewers argued that Callen's text was less suitable for engineering students (too few heat-mechanical energy conversion problems) and chemical engineers (too few chemical mixture problems).

I agree with the majority. Thermodynamics, an Introduction to the Physical Theories of Equilibrium Thermostatics and Irreversible Thermodynamics, is an exceptional text. I give it five stars.

H. B. Callen offers a fascinating and insightful postulational approach to thermodynamics rather than the conventional inductive approach. He targets first year graduate students and advanced undergraduates; however, even readers proficient with advanced thermodynamics should find Callen's approach stimulating.

The text has three primary sections: General Principles of Classical Thermodynamics (200 pages), Representative Applications (65 pages), and Fluctuations and Irreversible Thermodynamics (50 pages). An extensive appendix, some 50 pages, offers a useful review of pertinent mathematics and other relevant topics. Answers are not provided to the chapter problems.

Interspersed throughout are brief chapters that review useful mathematical techniques. I appreciated the discussions of the Euler equation, the Legendre transformations, the extremum principle in the Legendre transformed representations, and the Maxwell relations (not the Maxwell EM equations). Callen provides useful tools like a thermodynamic mnemonic diagram (first introduced by Max Born) and associated procedures for reducing the formal manipulation of partial derivates to "a simple recipe".

Callen's text has been widely used. I reviewed the 1960 first edition, eighteenth printing. A second edition published in 1984 is easier to find and is often used today as a supplementary text.

Thanks again for the advice from previous reviewers.

Formalism
Best treatment of extensive, intensive variables, thermodynamic potentials thermodynamic stability. I relied on the first edition of this text, along with other texts, for years while teaching thermo and stat mech. However, I preferred Gibbs's original argument for proving the equivalence of energy minimun at constant entropy to entropy maximum at constant energy. The book's weakness is that a student can learn everything in it without being able to apply the subject in the laboratory (some of the exercises are good in this regard, though). The opposite can be said about Zemansky. Forget Reif, a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas unsystematically organized and presented.

Right book, wrong edition...
The book gets five stars, but with the one caveat that this applies only to the first edition and not the second. Callen's book was the first to really push the axiomatic approach to classical thermodynamics, and the quality of the pedagogy on the subject prior to the emergence of the original version of this text in 1960 was, shall we say, "lacking." That said, actually spending money on the portion of this book devoted to statistical mechanics, when there are significantly clearer and cheaper presentations to be found (such as that by Chandler), is a little silly. The best thing about the introduction of new editions, however, is that they frequently drive down the price of the old - one can now easily find used, hardcover copies of the original version of this text for significantly less than half the cost of the new edition.

Beautiful treatment of classical thermodynamics
leaving aside the stat mech part, the book is just perfect. The presentation of the subject is not the traditional one (like, for example, Fermi's thermodynamics); it begins with the fundamental equation (Entropy versus the rest of the extensive variables) and all the postulates, and then goes on thru all thermodynamics. I found this approach much clearer, and more fun. From the first moment you are aware that with just one state equation (an equation between the intensive variables), you do not know the system completely. The thermodynamic potentials are introduced using in an explicit way the idea of the Legendre transform (but the math involved is very simple) and so the essence of the therm. potentials can be readily understood. I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics, which to me is quite boring and clumsy.

A classic text on the fundementals of Thermodynamics
The books overview of the fundementals of thermo is without rival. This book lays out the laws of thermo in a postulate form. From these postulates you can derive the entire theroy of classical thermo. This can be used to solve practical problems and derive thermodynamic relationships. It is a great refference.

This book takes you through the theory of thermo, but for a more practicle look at thermo see Smith and Van Ess Introduction to thermodymanics for chemical Engineers.

The first half of this book is perfect for the begining chemist or Chem Engineer. It is a great book for grad students also

I give this book five stars for the first half the second half is not all that great. Buy T. Hills Introduction to Statistical Mechanics for the thermostatistic part. It is from dover press and is cheap all Hills books are great and from dover. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Classic Lectures on Thermodynamics, A+ for Clarity
These lectures by Enrico Fermi make great reading for undergraduates in chemistry or physics, particularly those undergoing the rigors of physical chemistry and chemical thermodynamics. Fermi writes with clarity, always carefully laying the appropriate groundwork for each topic.

The mathematics assumes familiarity with calculus, including partial differentiation. Fermi provides clear explanations and motivation for the mathematics and the derivations are complete and easy to follow. For example, he carefully explained the form of a perfect differential of two variables and how it can be more readily integrated. I appreciated this help.

The first four chapters will be familiar to students of physics: Thermodynamic Systems, First Law of Thermodynamics, Second Law of Thermodynamics, and Entropy. The derivation of the Clapeyron equation and the Van der Waals equation may be new to some students.

Thereafter, the text begins to look more like physical chemistry with chapters titled Thermodynamic Potentials, Gaseous Reactions, Thermodynamics of Dilute Solutions, and the Entropy Constant. I found these last chapters to be more difficult, but not overly so.

At some points Thermodynamics becomes a real page-turner, but not in the sense of a fast-paced action story. The page-turning is necessary to retrieve earlier mathematical expressions. Occasionally, you will encounter statements like "the expression for the free energy is immediately obtained from equations (111), (29), and (86)." Fermi does not allow the reader to forget earlier derivations and discussions.

If your familiarity with thermodynamics is limited (or now foggy due to the passage of years), I suggest first reading Understanding Thermodynamics by H. C. Van Ness. This 100-page book, a series of lectures, is an excellent introduction to thermodynamics from an engineering and physics perspective. It corresponds to the first four chapters of Fermi's text.

My Take on the Book
I guess it takes chutzpah to write a review on a book by Fermi. Are we supposed to report errors??

Okay so what is it about. I think personally this book is for someone who has already taken courses on or at least understands classical thermodynamics. Because this book is an elegant introduction to the field in a brief form. It is not a thick learning book with problems so you can design a better turbine when you are finished. It is an elegant supplemental source of information from a master.

Having taken statistical mechanics through the graduate school level in physics, I bought the book and enjoyed the book as a sort of intellectual refresher. The aim is to see it his way, from his perspective, sitting under a tree with a glass of wine in one hand and the book in another. It was to enjoy and appreciate his writings and his "lecture" on this aspect of physics.

The book is suitable for someone with one or two years of physics or engineering.

Jack in Toronto

Excellent book
Thanks for the previous reviewers. Their comments are absolutely correct. This is one of the best book on thermodynamics!

The book is small in size, but contains clear and comprehensive explanations of the subject.

There is usually something I don't like in a book. However, I cannot find a single negative thing about this one. It is that good!

the core of thermodynamics
fermi presents thermodynamics with beutiful economy. many other authors obfuscate the subject with extraneous detail, often missing the most important points. fermi misses absolutely nothing of importance, but does not weigh down his explanations with ramblings or tangents either. he presents the bare core of thermodynamics.

though the following analogy is somewhat cheesy, i find it appropriate: most authors who have written on thermo are like beginning kung fu students who do all sorts of fancy moves, backflips, and sommersaults but who ultimately land on their behinds. fermi is like the grand master who uses a stunning sparsity of moves, but each one is necessary and each one is enough. in the end, his competition doesn't stand a chance. he's just that good.

Brilliant work!
Profound. This book is a beautiful work on the subject of thermodynamics. I consider this a classic treatise. All that one requires is a knowledge of basic calculus. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Good Book and Online Support
First, many of the answers to the text's problems can be found either online or are known implicitly! The problems themselves are kept interesting by relating to many fields and not being as dated (as another has mentioned, some computer/computational problems are offered--the author uses Excel but Mathematica, Maple, Origin, or other software is easily substituted) as other texts (especially in regard to Statistical Physics). The author gives links to good websites and references other solid texts for those wanting a more in depth or advanced discussion of a topic. The topics in the book are presented lucid and succinctly. An online errata is easily downloaded, though the corrigenda are not many. As mentioned, this text is very transportable. The author also notes that most of the layout for the book was done on his own computer thus keeping the price very reasonable compared to the bloated prices of texts Physics majors are accustomed. I think this text is very usable and well priced for a first year course in Thermal Physics. I also believe the author has put much thought in constructing this book to be used by students rather than to showoff his own knowledge or to be readable only to Physics Professors.

Good Explanations, but...
The book explains the material fairly well. You won't have much trobule in understanding the material presented. However, the book contains absolutely no examples (not even the routine calculuations). I don't consider that to be a major disadvantage of the book, but the following I certainly do: The problems in the book are not supplemented by answers. Not even the
'numerical' problmes! Not giving answers to problems seems to me be a trend in modern physics texts, and it is very frusrating to a new-comer/undergrad.

an excellent demonstration of pigs in flight
If you are fortunate enough not to be a physicist, you will toss this book away in frustration at the lack of proper derivations and explanations. If, however, you are fortunate enough to _be_ a physicist (or even an aspiring one), you will toss this book away in frustration at the flagrant absurdity to the textbook's approach. To put it another way, if you are the type of person who knows material without ever being taught it, _even then_ this book is not for you... for why would such a person need a textbook?

Should you be in the unfortunate situation that your school requires you to use this text, be sure to frequent the index such that you may find necessary background information in the chapters ahead of what you are presently reading. Under no circumstance should you attempt the homework problems without doing so. This author provides no clear examples, no solutions, and I have found many problems which, to one who reads the book 'linearly,' cannot be solved without information from future problems and sections in the text.

For Hardcore/Serious Physics Majors, Others Be Aware
Although I have not used/read any other physics books dedicated exclusively to thermal physics, I can only assume that those out there have to be better than Schroeder's.

The book is not "An Introduction," nor is it an advanced approach to thermal physics. Being so, it's an intermediate approach to the subject at hand. And that, is the problem with the book.

Being a sophomores and non-physics major in physics, "getting use" the concepts and ideas in physics may take times. This means I need a clear and ordered outline of each subject in physics and assurance from my instructors and the books that I am using.

However, with Schroeder's book, I'm thrown into chaos and frustration. First, the author chooses not to have practice problems or ones with answers in the back. This is horrible for an "intro" book. Sometimes I'm left with doubts about my answers and reasonings behind them: Am I taking this or that into account? Can I apply this equation to this system? Having some means of assuring the student with a budding interests in physics would be nice. Not everyone can make it office hours.

His expanations are good, but this problems are horrible ( Mathematics is not the problem). Chapter 1 was supposed to be a review, but the problems are not. I had to use Tipler's "Physics for Scientists and Engineers" and an old physical chemistry book to get me through. The problems that are presented are either too easy (plug-n-chug) or too difficult, but slim on anything in between. The worst ones are the ones that ask you estimate or assume this or that. Yes, it's great for developing a habit to critical think, but often it is just one or two hours aimlessly of getting nowhere, all to find out the next day that the answer could be easily derived in just a few steps.

Great explanations; Enjoyable to read
Schroeder sets the mark for readability with this undergraduate physics text. This was my favorite among all my undergraduate texts; by far the easiest to understand and most enjoyable to read. His explanations are clever and witty. I enjoyed his lucid introduction to combinatorics in statistical mechanics. Schroeder gets an A+ in defining abstract ideas such as enthalpy, partition functions, and intensive vs. extensive quantities. On the flip side, the organization is loose, and there aren't enough worked out examples in the latter chapters. I highly recommend this book to professors who want students to actually read and learn from the text. ... Read more

Book Description

While single wave ellipsometry has been around for years, spectroscopic ellipsometry is fast becoming the method of choice for measuring the thickness and optical properties of thin films. This book provides the first practical introduction to spectroscopic ellipsometry and the related techniques of reflectometry. A guide for practitioners and researchers in a variety of disciplines, it addresses a broad range of applications in physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and materials science. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Reflectometry - A Users Guide
Most useful book on this subject I have ever read. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellet Book
If you want to understand about Gas Dynamics, better read this book.It can beeither used as a text book or as a reference. A must for a person dealing with thermo-fluid mechanics.

Excellent Gas Dynamics Resource
I used this book in Graduate School at Purdue in a Gas Dynamics class taught by the co-author, J.D. Hoffman.A excellent, in-depth text, that starts with the fundamentals and builds.The best and most comprehensive book on the subject I've seen. ... Read more

Book Description

Photons and Atoms

Photons and Atoms: Introduction to Quantum Electrodynamics provides the necessary background to understand the various physical processes associated with photon-atom interactions. It starts with elementary quantum theory and classical electrodynamics and progresses to more advanced approaches. A critical comparison is made between these different, although equivalent, formulations of quantum electrodynamics.

Using this format, the reader is offered a gradual, yet flexible introduction to quantum electrodynamics, avoiding formal discussions and excessive shortcuts. Complementing each chapter are numerous examples and exercises that can be used independently from the rest of the book to extend each chapter in many disciplines depending on the interests and needs of the reader. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

My only physics book
Although I am a physicist and possess many books, for a long time my collection contained only a single book related to physics: Photons and Atoms. It is the most pedagogical text to be found on the fundamental aspects of the quantized interaction of matter with light. It's concise, clear, and convincing. The reader is never left mystified about any technical detail: no assumptions or approximations are left unexplained or swept under the rug. Yet, in spite of the high technical level the text is full of insights and simple intuitive pictures as well. Worth mentioning are also the exercises in each Chapter, which are remarkably useful and rewarding, Moreover, the solutions are given and display the same clarity of style and insightful remarks as the main text. The main emphasis of the book is on the nonrelativistic formulation of QED, but, of course, there is also a chapter devoted to the relativistic version that includes a description of how to take in a proper fashion the non-relativistic limit. Also questions of gauge, such as concerning the often confusing choice between "p.A" and "r.E" are treated, and it is, e.g., explicitly shown how in numerical problems the two are not always equivalent, as approximations made are not necessarily gauge invariant. Is there anything bad to say about this book? Almost not: for a while I had the impression that this book was the only one without any typographical errors, but in the meantime I have discovered 2. To be a bit more serious, maybe there is something: the book focuses on fundamental issues and, hence, if you expect ---especially given the title of the book---to read about problems such as spontaneous emission or laser-induced ionization of atoms, then you will be disappointed. In that case, you will have to check out the companion volume: atom-photon interactions. But hey, that's not such a bad book either. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A refrigeration Techs Must Have
This book covers all the details! I use this book everyday as refrence material. It covers everything from the basics, but also gets into complicated 2 stage design, and other design areas. From A-Z this book has it. If you are a refrigeration Engineer/ Operator this is a must for the text collection.

In depth basics to complicated analysis of refrigation cycle
In understanding the refrigeration cycle, Roy Dossat had 25 years in the field before teaching at the University of Houston. I was fortunate to attend the course taught by him in the 70's. It showed the man had much to offer even to the less experienced technician who needed to start on the basics. This book is easy to understand and a nice read for those who need answers to the complicated use of refrigerant and applications that drive the business. Refrigerant application is in constant change as environmental demands alter our lives. This book is a fundamental foundation and should be on the reference shelf of all engineers and technicians that want a straight foward understanding of the refrigeration cycle. debien@flash.net ... Read more