Book Description

Help students master real-world problems as they develop new insight into the physical sciences
Problems in the physical sciences that once baffled and frustrated scientists can now be solved easily with the aid of a computer. Computers can quickly complete complex calculations, provide numerical simulations of natural systems, and explore the unknown. Computational Physics shows students how to use computers to solve scientific problems and understand systems at a level previously possible only in a research environment. Adaptable to a ten-week class or a full-year course, it provides C and Fortran programs that can be modified and rewritten as needed to implement a wide range of computational projects.
Light on theory, heavy on applications, this practical, easy-to-understand guide
* Presents material from a problem-oriented perspective
* Integrates physics, computer science, and numerical methods and statistics
* Encourages creative thinking and an object-oriented view of problem solving
* Provides C and Fortran programs for implementing most of the projects
* Provides samples of problems actually solved in two ten-week quarters
* Includes a 3.5'' floppy disk containing the codes featured in the text
* Offers multimedia demonstrations and updates on a complementary Web site
With this engaging book as a guide, advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students will gain confidence in their abilities and develop new insight into the physical sciences as they use their computers to address challenging and stimulating problems. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This book is for advanced physics
The number of stars I gave the book is basically irrelevant.

I'm writing the review to point out that the book should be called: "computations for *advanced* physics".

Most of the topics covered in the book are for second year physics, or advanced topics. That's neither good nor bad, it just depends what you're looking for. If you want to find ways to apply computer programs in a first-years course -- this ain't it. There are probably only a few cases in which the topics are close enough to first-year physics to be relevant (multiple waves on a string; contrasting an idealized model of a pendulum with a "real-one").

Having said that, I give the book some pluses for covering a wide range of physics and mathematical topics, and a bit of a minus for writing that can be fairly opaque. ... Read more

Book Description

Computional physics involves the use of computer calculations and simulations to solve physical problems. This book describes computational methods used in theoretical physics with emphasis on condensed matter applications. Coverage begins with an overview of the wide variety of topics and algorithmic approaches studied in this book. The next chapters concentrate on electronic structure calculations, presenting the Hartree-Fock and Density Functional formalisms, and band structure methods. Later chapters discuss molecular dynamics simulations and Monte Carlo methods in classical and quantum physics, with applications to condensed matter and particle field theories. Each chapter details the necessary fundamentals, describes the formation of a sample program, and includes problems that address related analytical and numerical issues. Useful appendices on numerical methods and random number generators are also included. This volume bridges the gap between undergraduate physics and computational research.It is an ideal textbook for graduate students as well as a valuable reference for researchers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Finally, a good one!
This book by J. M. Thijssen is a rare gem. You note this as you browse the index. Quantum scattering, variational methods for the Schrödinger equation, the Hartree-Fock method, density functional theory, classical and quantum molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo methods and transfer matrix methods. Even a solid chapter on lattice field theory! The book isn't child's play (like most books on computational physics), but a beautifully written text covering both physical and computational issues, superficially but concisely. A neat selection of references guides readers to comprehensive, modern literature. The right balance of tricks and theory puts the readers few steps away from developing their own code. I don't award the fifth star because software engineering and object orientation issues are ignored. ... Read more

Book Description

This guidebook to mathematics contains, in handbook form, the fundamental working knowledge of mathematics that is needed as an everyday guide for working scientists, engineers, and students. Easy to understand, and convenient to use, this guidebook provides the information necessary to evaluate most problems which occur in concrete applications. This fourth edition has been fully revised and now contains a new emphasis on those fields of mathematics that have become more important for the formulation and modeling of technical and natural processes, namely Numerical Mathematics, Probability Theory and Statistics, as well as Information Processing. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Clasic
For me it was a remarkable fact, how few of the people in western countries have heard about this handbook. In the east this is probably the most popular mathematical handbook ever. I dont know any eastern european scientist in a field of mathematics, engineering and physics who don't have it. The main reason is it's extensivity and usefulness. In Croatian print it has about 1000 pages in very small format covering all possible parts of applied mathematics up to special functions/markov chains/complex integration/vector algebra. It's "allways in backpack book" and my hot recomandation to any technical scientist.

Treasure Island
The original title of this book was "The Mathematical Handbook for Engineers and Technical Colleges' Students". This reflects the essence of what it is about: well rounded Math coverage for those who did not earn Ph.D. in Math yet.
For each of the topics covered the book gives you not only theoretical explanations, but plenty of examples as well. This feature allows anyone to get good understanding of the specific subject, and in most cases this knowledge is more than adequate for the problem solving.
The countless editions of this gemstone had been used by the generations of Russian students and engineers since, I believe 1940s. In my family alone it was the most used reference book for more than 50 years.

not a good reference book for mathematician
It's probably a good book for engineers, but definitely not the right one for mathematician or anybody who needs to do serious math.

Una herramienta valiosa
Cuando comence a estudiar en la universidad, uno de los profesores tenía una edición de 1977 de la editorial MIR en español del libro Manual de Matemáticas para Estudiantes e Ingenieros, a todos nos parecio un libro excepcional, pero increiblemente difícil de hallar, luego cuando comenzamos a estudiar los cálculos, geometría análitica, siempre utilizamos diferentes autores, muchos de ellos eran principlamente de alemania y la unión sovietica. La claridad con la que se refiere a los conceptos que fundamentan el ejercicio de la ingenieria, hacen de este libro la mano derecha de cualquier ingeniero, en la actualidad dispongo de un ejemplar de esta 3era edición y lo utilizó como como herramienta de referencia. En algunas oportunidades he tenido la oportunidad de preparar clases informales para amigas/os o familiares de ellos que aún estudian en la universidad y siempre llevo conmigo este manual.

*The* reference book
I have been using it during my studies and never regrettec the price. It has some mistakes (I got the 2nd edition) but apart from that it is just excellent. ... Read more

Book Description

This second edition of Baumann's Mathematica® in Theoretical Physics shows readers how to solve physical problems and deal with their underlying theoretical concepts while using Mathematica® to derive numeric and symbolic solutions. Each example and calculation can be evaluated by the reader, and the reader can change the example calculations and adopt the given code to related or similar problems.The second edition has been completely revised and expanded into two volumes: The first volume covers classical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics. Both topics are the basis of a regular mechanics course. The second volume covers electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, and fractals and fractional calculus.New examples have been added and the representation has been reworked to provide a more interactive problem-solving presentation. This book can be used as a textbook or as a reference work, by students and researchers alike. A brief glossary of terms and functions is contained in the appendices. The CD-ROM accompanying each of the two volumes contains Mathematica® notebooks as well as Mathematica® programs. The notebooks contain the entire text of the corresponding volume and can interface with Mathematica®. The examples given in the text can also be interactively used and changed for the reader’s purposes. The Author, Gerd Baumann, is affiliated with the Mathematical Physics Division of the University of Ulm, Germany, where he is professor. He is the author of Symmetry Analysis of Differential Equations with Mathematica®. Dr. Baumann has given numerous invited talks at universities and industry alike. He regularly hosts seminars and lectures on symbolic computing at the University of Ulm and at Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Required reading for math and physics majors.
It was always my philosophy that a student should complete the
first two semesters of calculus before beginning physics at the
calculus level. I felt it was too much to ask that a student have
to tackle beginning calculus and physics at the same time. There is nothing as helpful to learning physical science as a good foundation in mathematics. I took this as irrefutable and never
thought I would change my mind. Today I received both volumes of
this set. I have been looking at these books for about twelve hours and I can't believe how well the authors have seamlessly woven together calculus theory with physics theory at the first year level. If you are a student taking physics and calculus you must have these books. There isn't enough space here to do
justice to these books. If you are a real math or physics major
it will only take you 15 minutes to realize what you are looking
at. If you had AP Calculus and AP Physics you will be in for a
treat. These books are a great academic and teaching achievement and should be required reading for all calculus and physics teachers as well.

Very good book
This book is 1 of 2 which make a set. These two books are good as they are presented in black and white with a systematic layout. This is a great step away from normal university textbooks which are rehashed constantly, due to the commercialism which permeates our society, making them convoluted at times and full of irrelevant text and colorful images etc. Most of these textbooks shouldn't be allowed in our classrooms. This book didn't get five stars as some concepts and examples don't have relevant graphs and models presented which would make learning easier (especially the formulation of the surface integral). All in all this is the best calculus/physics book I've found so far. It is important to download the errata as some mistakes are present within: ...

A brilliant narration to a most exquisite topic
The authors of this book have skillfully combined insightful explanations with equally wonderfully examples. This book is excellent for those with little mathematical background interested in exploring the world of physics. The authors keep the reader entertained by maintaining a conversional tone, and a light-hearted spirit. Their love for the material radiates from each and every page.
This should be a required text for every college physics class. All to often are there students with missing pieces floating around in their heads. Other physics text books will tend to skip over the mathematical background to the topics, as not to repeat material for some students, or scare away others. This book not only excites an interest in the physical world around us, but the mathematical language of nature as well.

Previous Math/Physics Dropout
I found the subject matter elucidating. Refreshingly complete, the books properly integrate physics and calculus the way they were meant to be. Neither field stands alone; they enjoy a wonderful symbiotic relationship. Thanks to authors Jackson and Rex, this relationship is defined in real world terms. Highly recommended for all college level students and especially helpful for the math/physics majors.

finally!
Back in the day, Newton pegged classical physics and calculus at the same time. Why? The two fields are intimately related- calculus is the language of physics, physics is the concrete embodiment of calculus. For some reason, this was lost in university pedogogy. You take a year of calculus to learn how to do derivatives and integrations in the abstract, then take physics to learn the applications of calculus. It's analogous to learning a computer language for a year, but not actually working on a computer until the following year. Hmmm. So (after I've already graduated) someone decides to put the two back together. Like peanut butter and jelly. The books (both volumes) are brilliant, one of the best textbooks I've seen. I'm reviewing the subjects (it's been a few years and I'm rusty), and these lend themselves so well to self-study. The style is very clear, and teaching the subjects integrated super-enforces the concepts. Some chapters are purely physics, some purely calc, but most are a little of both. The contents delves deeply into both subjects to give a solid first-year understanding of both and prepares the student for further study. The integrated approach also dispels the intimidation that occurs when studying/ reading physics and encountering lotsa math. All in all, a GREAT resource and method, and I hope this integrated method will catch on. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

basic topology and geometry for physicists
intended for the physicist; mathematicians can glean very quickly from its contents the power , diversity and wide applicability of their subject, not to mention the lasting impact it will have on the mathematical physics community.

One of my favorite books
Robert Geroch's "Mathematical Physics" is a stunningly beautiful exposition of basic mathematics needed for science using the minimal amount of category theory not to be insane from the modern mathematical perspective (he cleverly hints at more category theory in the problems). I would consult this book first on basically any of the subjects that he covers. You will find the most elegant, original and to the point discussions there. There nothing on differential geometry, however.

An introduction to category theory? For physicists?
Geroch chooses category theory (or the theory of metamathematics) as an exploratory tool that could conceivably provide unified treatment of the various algebraic and topological structures encountered in "fancy" mathematics. This is his masterplan for introducing theoretical physicists to abstract mathematical concepts. While the categorical language is admittedly a bit heavy for (most) physicists, the book itself is clearly written, and Geroch does a fine job of delineating the key topics. That is why I have decided to give this book 4 out of 5, thus betraying my partiality towards mathematical rigor in physics. My personal favorite is Geroch's insightful discussion of dynamical systems and topological spaces. The only objection that may be raised is the layout of the book. The main definitions and theorems are not set apart from the rest, and this makes the text appear denser than it really is. ... Read more

Book Description

This book introduces the reader to the use of Monte Carlo methods for solving practical problems in radiation transport, and will also serve as a reference work for practitioners in the field. It assumes the reader has a general knowledge of calculus and radiation physics, and a knowledge of Fortran programming, but assumes no prior knowledge of stochastic methods or statistical physics. The subject is presented by a combination of theoretical development and practical calculations. Because Monte Carlo methods are closely linked to the use of computers, from the beginning the reader is taught to convert the theoretical constructs developed in the text into functional software for use on a personal computer. Example problems provide the reader with an in-depth understanding of the concepts presented and lead to the production of a unique learning tool, a probabilistic framework code that models in a simple manner the features of production of Monte Carlo transport codes. This framework code is developed in stages such that every function is understood, tested, and demonstrated -- random sampling, generating random numbers, implementing geometric models, using variance reduction, tracking particles in a random walk, testing the thoroughness with which the problem phase space is sampled, scoring detectors, and obtaining estimates of uncertainty in results. Advanced topics covered include criticality, correlated sampling, adjoint transport, and neutron thermalization.Monte Carlo codes can produce highly precise wrong answers. The probability of this occurring is increased if production codes are run as opaque, `black boxes' of software. This text attempts to make Monte Carlo into a comprehensible, usable tool for solving practical transport problems. It is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers who wish to expand their knowledge of the Monte Carlo technique. ... Read more

Book Description

This work shows that information is at the root of all fields of science. These fields may be generated by use of the concept of "extreme physical information" or EPI. The book greatly expands the material in Physics from Fisher Information to include many other areas in science. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Clarifying physics
"Physics from Fisher Information" is a unification, indeed. The author derives the physical laws for such different fields as quantum mechanics, classical electromechanics, general relativity and statistical mechanics from the single powerful principle of Extreme Physical Information (EPI). This principle probably goes deeper than merely a mathematical similarity between the laws, which as such already helps to grasp the full picture of physics. Personally, I think it's a pity this clarifying book was not written yet when I was a student of physics. To miss this book, is to miss something essential.

Well-written and important, but keep math texts handy
This is a compilation of Roy Frieden's work in major physics journals over the last decade deriving the basic laws of physics - relativistic quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, gravitation, statistical thermodynamics - from a quantity (used by mathematical statisticians and by hardly anyone else) called Fisher Information. He derives the Klein-Gordon equation, Schroedinger wave equations, Maxwell's equations, DeWitt-Wheeler law of quantum gravity, and various statistical thermodynamics laws. Whew. Basically, while folks have focused in the past on Shannon information and entropy (all global measures), Frieden's worked on Fisher information which is a local measure (e.g. based on a derivative). Optimization of functionals of Fisher information gives differential equations as results, which become laws of physics. Cute.

Anyone with a Bachelors in Engineering would have been exposed to enough physics to understand what Frieden has done. The mathematics is at senior-level math/grad level engineering level. Well-written and not at all cryptic, Frieden goes out of his way to motivate his arguments. In fact, Roy spends 100 pages in preparation and discussion before he even gets to his first real derivation.

Operations Researchers (like me), Applied Mathematicians, EE Control Theory types and Statisticians will find the mathematics pretty comfortable...even if we don't understand all the physics implications. Philosophical types with strong math backgrounds can profitably wade through the text just to get a flavor of his arguments.

Cambridge *really* wanted to publish this textbook. They even included Frieden's umm..errr...interesting pencil sketches of himself and other luminaries. Check out the New Scientist archives for an article in January 1999 on Frieden's work.

One warning. This is *not* light reading. Those looking for the "Tao of Fisher Information" will have to wait for some of us to write a pop sci version of his work. If you want to get a feeling for Frieden's work before you buy the book, read the articles "Estimation of distribution laws, and physical laws, by a principle of extremized physical information", Physica A, 198 (1993) 262-338 or "Lagrangians of physics and the game of Fisher-information transfer", Phys Rev E, 52(3), Sept 1995, 2274-2286.

Fisher knowledge is the only knowledge
With my advanced copy of this wonderful book, I can truly say that all physics ends here. I foresee every field of science laying down their texts and proclaiming this one as the end all be all. A must read for anyone. ... Read more

Book Description

This textbook fills a gap in the existing literature on general relativity by providing the advanced student with practical tools for the computation of many physically interesting quantities. The context is provided by the mathematical theory of black holes, one of the most successful and relevant applications of general relativity. Topics covered include congruences of timelike and null geodesics, the embedding of spacelike, timelike and null hypersurfaces in spacetime, and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of general relativity. ... Read more

Book Description

Spinor and Twistor Methods in Space-Time Geometryintroduces the theory of twistors, and studies in detail how the theory of twistors and 2-spinors can be applied to the study of space-time. Twistors have, in recent years, attracted increasing attention as a mathematical tool and as a means of gaining new insights into the structure of physical laws.This volume also includes a comprehensive treatment of the conformal approach to space-time infinity with results on general-relativistic mass and angular momentum, a detailed spinorial classification of the full space-time curvature tensor, and an account of the geometry of null geodesics. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive introduction to the mathematical theory of vorticity and incompressible flow begins with the elementary introductory material and leads into current research topics.While the book centers on mathematical theory, many parts also showcase the interaction among rigorous mathematical theory, numerical, asymptotic, and qualitative simplified modeling, and physical phenomena.The first half forms an introductory graduate course on vorticity and incompressible flow.The second half comprises a modern applied mathematics graduate course on the weak solution theory for incompressible flow. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (12)

new visual metaphors
New visual metaphors for different kinds of vectors in 3-space: arrows, stacks, thumbtacks, and sheaves (corresponding to contravariant, covariant, and two forms of tensor). Visual and helpful proofs of Gauss's theorem, and Stoke's theorem, and div, grad and curl. I suspect the book would have been better had he included tensors explicitly. Very valuable for anyone doing vector analysis.

A Short, Fascinating Book. Buy This One.
I hardly need to add another Highly Recommended to the list of reviews. However, Professor Weinreich has assembled from his lectures an exceptionally interesting and intriguing geometrical approach to vectors. Not the conventional directed line segment approach, but one which questions which geometrical relationships are topologically invariant and which are not. This is not a difficult book, but I suspect that the more familiar the reader is with vector concepts, the more surprised and appreciative he will be.

Invaluable -- Div, Grad Curl ++
I actually have a few complaints about this book, but the core material is so helpful and instructive that they don't much matter.

This book explains vector and the beginnings of tensor analysis with new visual metaphors for vectors: lines, sheaves, thumbtacks, stacks. The dot and cross products can be visualized with these metaphors, and the various forms of Stokes/Gauss theorems proven visually.

This is great stuff for anyone going beyond the basics in vector analysis -- which would be anyone in pure math or physics, and some engineers.

You do need to use this as an adjuct to a conventional text or course.

This is the more sophisticated and general version of "Div, Grad, Curl and All That".

A great companion to math and physics
This book is deep! While lacking the formal rigor of vector analysis or exterior calculus this book attempts to remedy the lack of intuition that often accompanies such treatments (read the preface of the book).

In this book the author sneaks in clifford algebra, forms and applications to physics, he gives us a method of calculation that opens up the vector calculus you already knew and gives a great way to 'draw' many phenomenon in physics.

The author has an important agenda in this volume and that is to distinguish between objects that naturally behave differently. It has been the legacy of Gibbs and Heaviside for us to flounder in the 3-d application/misapplication of Hamiliton's quaternions. The reader is led to realize that identifying everything with contravariant vectors (arrows) is wrong and damaging to our intuition of phenomenon.

I highly recommend this book. It may seem hokey at first with odd names like thumbtack and swarm but it portrays deep mathematics in a beautiful manner. Work hard on it, apply it to physics and mathematics and be surprised at what you find! This sort of geometrical analysis is hard to find (try Gravitation by MTW or Applied Differential Geometry by Burke) at this level.

Remember it is meant to be an affordable companion to courses on vector and tensor analysis, and what a companion it is!

A Great Book too bad the tensor one never got here
This book is one of the best books on vectors that I have ever read, and believe me I have read many. It was one of the easiest reads that I have ever encountered in a math book. Everything is explained very well but a very interested student will have to go somewhere else to find meaning to many of the vector types. I would have like to to see more detail on N dimensions or even four since that is what relativity requires. Overall though a great book and an extremely easy read. ... Read more

Book Description

Designed as a learning tool for those with limited background in quantum mechanics, this book provides comprehensive coverage of angular momentum in quantum mechanics and its applications to chemistry and physics. Based on class-tested material, this presentation offers clear explanations of theory while giving equal attention to solving real problems. Theoretical considerations are made concrete and accessible through extensive examples and applications at the end of each chapter. Problem sets, designed as both individual and group exercises, are treated as an integral part of the text in order to stimulate student interest and clarify the abstract principles discussed. Examples are drawn primarily from atomic and molecular phenomena, and include many intermediate steps (often left out of other texts) to ensure complete mastery of the material, and to lay the groundwork for understanding photon and particle collision phenomena, and more advanced studies. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is a must-have for p-chem. graduate students !
I have read this book with a great joy. The author of this book is a leading authority in the field of reaction dynamics, and has played a key role in applyingp the vector correlation in physical chemistry problems. The best part of this book probably is the example/problem set part where the reader is asked to use the knowledge obtained from the chapter to solve the "real" problem (mostly on spectroscopy and the gas phase reaction dynamics). I highly recommend this book.

Angular momentum for dummies...
There are, of course, several other books that derive and explain the details and myriad equations involved in our understanding of angular momentum (e.g. Edmonds, Judd). However, none of them explain the mathematics and physical results in "simple English" as well as Zare's. The problem sets and applications are particularly helpful and relevant to a wide variety of common experimental techniques and data analyses. I also strongly recommend purchasing the companion solutions manual. The only derogatory comment that I can make is that there are much better programs available for calculating the 3, 6, and 9J symbols than those found in the appendix. I doubt this comes as a surprise to anyone.

A well-written book focussed on experimental applications
This is a well-written and very interesting book with (perhaps) an unfortunate title. My first reaction was "A book devoted to angular momentum? Who would read such a thing?"

Ignore the title and look at the sub-title: "Understanding Spatial Aspects in Chemistry and Physics." This book covers everything from polarized fluorescence spectroscopy to molecular beam scattering to molecular reorientation in liquids. All of these topics have one thing in common -- they are spatially anisotropic, and Zare leads the reader through a tutorial on their analysis.

There are other books on this topic. (The monographs by Rose and by Brink and Satchler come to mind.) To my taste, they are dry and boring.

Zare's book is different. Although he presents the material with the same rigor, he also includes 16 "applications" (i.e. problem sets) that showcase some of the most elegant physical chemistry/chemical physics problems of the century. For example, their are applications dealing with scattering, polarized fluorescence, Zeeman quantum beats, correlation functions in spectroscopy, and the spectroscopy of diatomic molecules. These applications usually cover real molecular problems -- not watered down analogues. Zare's discussion of spherical tensor operators deserves special note for its clarity.

This book should be approachable to anyone with at least one semester of graduate quantum chemistry or physics under their belt.

A masterful account on the theory of angular momentum.
The theory of angular momentum is important in many fields of chemistry and physics.This book is a magnificently sadistic way to waste time and go crazy. I recommended to every introspective scientist that has no personal life and enjoys wasting time with the arcane. ... Read more

Book Description

Density functional theory (DFT) is by now a well-established method for tackling the quantum mechanics of many-body systems. Originally applied to compute properties of atoms and simple molecules, DFT has quickly become a work horse for more complex applications in the chemical and materials sciences. The present set of lectures, spanning the whole range from basic principles to relativistic and time-dependent extensions of the theory, is the ideal introduction for graduate students or nonspecialist researchers wishing to familiarize themselves with both the basic and most advanced techniques in this field. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Mostly theory, few applications
Springer - Verlag has lately been publishing books related to materials simulation.One of their recent products is this short book on density functional theory, today's workhorse of atomic-scale solid-state simulations.

For someone who wants to know DFT, its origins, principles, and future, this is probably the best, and most condensed work currently out.There is minimal discussion of other techniques, and one chapter (the last) on implementing a DFT code.Everything is else is pure theory, but kept at an understandable level.The major publications in the field are cited and their importance to DFT's development are explained.The math is extensive, and the prospective reader should have taken at least one quantum course before reading this book.

Separate chapters are devoted to the three areas of DFT that are presently rarely seen in commercial codes: relativistic DFT, time-dependent DFT, and orbital-dependent functionals.This serves to show the reader probable advances in the field.

Unlike Martin's work on Electronic Structure, or Finnis' work on Interatomic Forces, this book concerns itself with DFT and its implementation, and not the use of DFT to obtain any properties.I would suggest buying this book as a complement to the two previously mentioned. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

An excellent non-equilibrium stat/mech for dummies
This book is not an ideal dictionary of stat/mech as "A modern course in Stat/Phys" by Reichl. Albeit noticeable typos,
as long as the reader does all the hard work and derives eqns step by step, he/she can easily correct the typos without missing any important information.

The reason I liked this book over others is because of its clear
and crisp content to underpin the essential "physics" of each equation by simple words. Moreover, the connections between
each section and chapter are arranged in a logical way as you can see that Bob has indeed distilled a thorough understanding
of nonequilibrium stat/mech into a delicious, thin book for which every student who uses stat/mech for research should read.

Good intro for non eq stat mech, but not stand-alone
I have taken and TA-ed statistical thermodynamics and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and have found Robert Zwanzig's book to be the best introduction to the nonequilibrium side of things. Clarity is the goal here, without the detail of Kubo's Stat. Phys. II, and MUCH clearer than the latter chapters in McQuarrie. However, a student will get much more from this book if he or she has at least some background in quantum mechanics and, needless to say, in statistical thermodynamics.

Without getting into much detail, Zwanzig focuses on the fundamental concepts in a clear exposition. If you are taking yourt first course in nonequilibrium stat mech, this is the book you should buy. If, however, you have some reasonable experience with the subject, this book is not worth as much, since it is designed to be pedagogical. In that case, Van Kampen's Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry is best.

A great start but far too many typos/too little defn's
Zwanzig shows great mastery of the material and his explanations are great. They help explain the material well.

But the big problem here is that there are just so many typos. When you want to follow complicated arguments, it can take forever to figure out what he means precisely/mathematically.

Also, there is not the slightest attempt to keep units correct or fix a representation, so one finds inner products between objects that don't really make sense. They are never formally defined.

It's a great book to get the ideas from and some simple derivations. I'm still working my way through parts of it. But unless you have a complementary book to guide you, especially through Ch. 8, or you are already familiar with the material, you may get lost...I would suggest Berne/Pacora Ch. 11 for help in Ch. 8

the shortest cut, indeed
I really enjoyed this book by Zwanzig. It treats many standard subjects starting from Langevin eq., Fokker Planck eq., to projection operators and mode-coupling theories, etc. Most of the examples demonstrated are elementary, but some of them (heat bath, dipole moments, etc) are treated several times in different chapters with different techniques so that the reader can understand more deeply how these techniques are interconnected. Really enlightening!

Fast way to understand nonequilibrium statistical mechanics
As for me, the most difficulty in understanding nonequilibrium statistical mechanics (NSM) was to face terribly long equations. Although there are several books on NSM, Zwanzig's must be a short cut with the minimum mathematics. It is easily readable by a person who majors or majored in a field related to NSM but not deeply. It is because his explanation on several approaches to NSM is based on not only simple and interesting examples but also his bright intuition. Although this book describes NSM in a simplified way, it requires knowledge of equilibrium statistical mechanics, basic understanding of quantum and classical mechanics, and the minimum mathematics for undergraduate physics course. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The next physics revolution will come out of this work
I've been studying relativity for 7 years now, and specifically this work for 5.Definately will revolutionize the way physics is done in the 21st century.

anyone out there doing active research please contact me:chorn@home.com

The next physics revolution will come out of this work
I've been studying relativity for 7 years now, and specifically this work for 5.Definately will revolutionize the way physics is done in the 21st century.

anyone out there doing active research please contact me:chorn@home.com

A brilliant sequel to GRM
Starting with a detailed comparison of the original intentions of Bohr and Einstein in their development of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity, Sachs shows that the goals of General Relativity are more insightful and subsume those of Quantum Mechanics. Where General Relativity is the forest, Quantum Mechanics is the trees.

By introducing the spinor variables of General Relativity that Sachs derived in his earlier work of General Relativity and Matter, he shows that the low energy form of his General Relativistic equations in the quaternionic basis are very simply Dirac's equations with interaction. To be clear, Quantum Mechanics is nothing more than a very useful, low energy approximation for a complete but more complex treatment under General Relativity in a quaternionic basis.

Then to ring up numerous "firsts" in Physics, it can be shown that there is force symmetry in matter and antimatter and that electrical charge is quantized. Not to be outdone, the next chapter finishes with an amazing derivation of Pauli's Exclusion Principle from first principles.

The broader view of this new Physics will lead the reader into a new order in Physics that breaks with current teaching. The annihilation of particle and antiparticle is shown instead to be a strong coupling of these fermions in a stable dipole unit. The Compton Effect, Blackbody radiation and the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron find new and refreshingly simple explanations. The world is ruled only by fermions. The "delayed action at a distance"of Feynman and Wheeler is restored to currency.The "advanced" solutions take their place beside the "retarded" solutions in a single, complete space-time.

The complete derivation of the full General Relativistic equations is detailed. This is followed by proof that the symmetric tensor part is nothing less than Einstein's original theory of General Relativity and, that the antisymmetric tensor part is Maxwell's equations.

Sach's following sections on elementary particle physics in this new paradigm should send earth tremors through CERN and FERMILAB. Lifetimes and masses of a number of "elementary particles" are discussed in great detail with fascinating new perspective. The muon is demonstrated to be a doublet excited state of the electron with a prediction of its mass and lifetime in accord with experiment. ... Read more

Book Description

Now available from University Science Books at a much lower price, this classic textbook has never been rivaled. It is ideal for a senior or first-year graduate level courses.Statistical Mechanics is the extended version of McQuarrie's 1984 text -- Statistical Thermodynamics -- now out of print.Although our printing of this book carries a 2000 copyright date, this is not a new edition.It is the original first edition, without any changes to the text (except preface). Despite its age, it is still a renowned and accessible introduction to the subject, containing a large number of chapter-ending problems for students. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The standard, but maybe not the best
McQuarrie's book is typically the standard text in many undergraduate and graduate programs, but I believe there are many other resources to learn statistical mechanics in a much clearer way.

I find the following things to be particularly annoying about the book:
1) The typesetting! The pages are very difficult to read, especially equations. It's a very old typeface and my eyes literally hurt after reading McQuarrie for too long.
2) Very few problems are worked out. Many important concepts that should involve more detailed discussion are simply left as exercises to the student. I believe that more peripheral results and extensions of fundamental material are better left as problems, as opposed to fundamental results.
3) The glaring absense of good discussion on spin systems (such as Ising magnets) and critical phenomena. These are VERY important topics in modern statistical mechanics.

I would recommend the following if you want to find good books on statistical mechanics:
1) If you want one comprehensive volume, use Linda Reichl's book.
2) If you are only interested in statistical thermodynamics, use David Chandler's book.
3) If you want both statistical thermodynamics and nonequatilibrium statistical mechanics, use Chandler and Robert Zwanzig's book.
Also, Kubo's statistical thermodynamics book is really good.

I really would not recommend McQuarrie. Save your eyes and get a more modern book with at least a better typesetting.

2 Books in one
This is a good book, but it's not a graduate text for the first half. If you're just reading it and not taking the class, buy Hill instead (it's $10). McQuarrie learned how to teach SM from Hill and it shows. The second half is a whole different story. It's research level material, but is perhaps out of date. Lastly, Karl Freed and Stuart Rice teach from this book, which should be worth far more than my review.

Really Good!!!
It's a fantastic book!. I'm studying it every day, and learn something new every day. Everyone should have this book.

Classical textbook.
I have found this book to be an excellent resource during my PhD and postdoctoral studies in molecular simulations. It is concise, rigorous and spans the classic problems in statistical mechanics more thoroughly than any other text. The development of the central axioms and theorems and connection with macroscopic thermodynamics is quite enlightening.

I have studied the sections on: foundations, perfect gases, imperfect gases, crystals and liquids. The book also covers kinetic theory, reactions and more.

The book is necessarily concise and therefore is a bit difficult as a first course. However a diligent graduade student could conceivably "slog" through it and would later come to appreciate the rewards. For a cheaper alternative, turn to the other classic of this field by T. L. Hill.

Modern, concise text on stat. mech.
This is the book to go for those working on molecular simulations and looking for the math background and derivations leading equations of interest. Due the fast moving on several subjects the reader should have at hand other texts like Tolman and Hill to review in depth some parts. ... Read more

Book Description

A self-contained and thorough treatment of the vigorous research that has occurred in nonlinear mechanics since 1970. Begins with fundamental concepts and techniques of analysis and progresses through recent developments. Provides an overview that abstracts and introduces main nonlinear phenomena. Treats systems having a single degree of freedom, introducing basic concepts and analytical methods; extends concepts and methods to systems having degrees of freedom. Most of this material cannot be found in any other text. Uses simple physical examples to explain nonlinear dispersive and nondispersive waves. Unifies notation and modifies analysis to conform to discussions. Solutions are worked out in detail for numerous examples and results are plotted and explanations are couched in physical terms. Contains an extensive bibliography. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A perfect book
This is a very important book for my study. In my research field, everyone regard that this book must be read. Today, I have seen some books written by the same authors, but I can't have opportunity to read them. If possible I want to know the authors address. Thank you. sundajun Tianjin University,China ... Read more

Book Description

Quantum field theory describes basic physical phenomena over an extremely wide range of length or energy scales. Quantum fields exist in space and time, which can be approximated by a set of lattice points. This book presents a comprehensive and coherent account of the theory of quantum fields on a lattice, an essential technique for the study of the strong and electroweak nuclear interactions. After introductory chapters on scalar fields, gauge fields and fermion fields, the book studies quarks and gluons in QCD and fermions and bosons in the electroweak theory. The last chapter is devoted to numerical simulations algorithms that have been used in recent large-scale numerical simulations. The book will be valuable for graduate students and researchers in theoretical physics, elementary particle physics, and field theory, as well as non-perturbative approximations and numerical simulations of quantum field phenomena. ... Read more

Book Description

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity leads to two remarkable predictions: first, that the ultimate destiny of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse and to disappear from view, leaving behind a 'black hole' in space; and secondly, that there will exist singularities in space-time itself. These singularities are places where space-time begins or ends, and the presently known laws of physics break down. They will occur inside black holes, and in the past are what might be construed as the beginning of the universe. To show how these predictions arise, the authors discuss the General Theory of Relativity in the large. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory and an account of the necessary background of differential geometry, the significance of space-time curvature is discussed and the global properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations are examined. The theory of the causal structure of a general space-time is developed, and is used to study black holes and to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singualarities under certain conditions. These conditions are shown to be satisfied in the vicinity of stars of more than twice the solar mass near the endpoint of their nuclear evolution, and in a time-reversed sense for the universe as a whole. In the first case, the singularity in our past. A discussion of the Cauchy problem for General Relativity is also included in the book. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Large Scale structure of good science books (& spacetime
I think that this book has great depth, and is one of the best Stephen Hawking books I have read. My favourite remains 'A Brief History of Time', but still this book is extremely excellent. My compliments to the chef.

A classic in mathematical general relativity
This book is now a classic and is written by two giants in mathematics and physics. It wil be used for many years to come and is certainly one of the most widely quoted in the subject.

The authors begin the book by a discussion of the role of gravity in physics and its role as determining the causal structure of the universe. They introduce the idea of a closed trapped surface, setting the stage for the goal of the book, namely the study of the conditions under which a space-time singularity must occur. Black holes and the beginning of the universe are cited as examples of these singularities. The authors also outline briefly the content of each chapter. A neat argument is given for the significance of focal points via the use of Raychaudhari's equation.

The second chapter is an overview of the background in differential geometry needed in the rest of the book. Although complete from an axiomatic point of view, the approach is much too formal for readers who do not have a knowledge of differential geometry. Such a reader should gain the necessary background elsewhere.

General relativity as a theory of gravitation is discussed in chapter 3. Spacetime is assumed to be a connected 4-dimensional smooth manifold on which is defined a Lorentz metric. The topology is assumed to be Hausdorff. Some of the more interesting or well-written parts of this chapter include the example of a spacetime that is not inextendible, the determination of the conformal factor for the spacetime metric, and the discussion of alternative field equations.

The authors discuss the physicial significance of curvature in chapter 4, namely its effect on families of timelike and null curves. The most important part of this chapter is the discussion on certain inequalities tht the energy-momentum tensor should satisfy from a physical viewpoint. These inequalities, called the weak energy condition and the dominant energy condition, allow the authors to prove the existence of singularities in a later chapter. The reader can see clearly the role of the Jacobi equation, and its solution, the Jacobi field, in measuring the separation of nearby geodesics. The existence of conjugate points is proven, and shown to imply the existence of self-intersections in families of geodesics. As a warm-up to showing the non-existence of geodesics of maximal length, the authors employ variational calculus to study how to vary non-spacelike curves connecting points in convex normal neighborhoods in spacetime, and between points and hypersurfaces. In particular, it is shown that a timelike geodesic curve from a hypersurface to a point is maximal iff there is no conjugate point to the hypersurface along the curve. In addition, the authors prove that two points joined by a non-spacelike curve which is not a null geodesic can be joined by a timelike curve.

The authors consider the exact solutions of the Einstein field equations in chapter 5. Most of the "usual" spacetimes are considered, including Minkowski, De Sitter, Anti-de-Sitter, Robertson-Walker, Schwarzschild, Reissner-Nordstrom, Kerr, Taub-Nut, and Godel. The emphasis in on the global properties of the spacetimes and the existence of singularities in them. The famous Penrose diagrams are used to "compactify" spacetimes in order to study their behavior at infinity and their conformal properties. The authors first introduce the concept of a future (past) Cauchy development here, so important in later developments in the book. The reader can see the tools developed in chapter 4 in play here; for example, the existence of a singularity in a spatially homogeneous cosmology is shown to follow directly from the Raychaudhuri equation. The existence of the singularity is proved to be independent of any acceleration or rotation of matter in such cosmologies.

In chapter 5, the authors consider the causal structure of spacetime, namely the study of its conformal geometry. The consideration of the set of all metrics conformal to the physical metric allows one to discuss "geodesic completeness" of spacetime, this concept forming the basis of a later definition of a singularity in spacetime. The more interesting topics discussed in this chapter include the causality conditions (there are no closed non-spacelike curves), and the Alexandrov topology and its connection with the strong causality condition (every neighborhood of a point contains a neighborhood of the point no non-separable curve of which intersects it more than once). When strong causality does hold, the Alexandrov topology is equivalent to the usual manifold topology, and thus the topology of spacetime can be determined by the observation of causal relationships. The discussion on the role of global hyperbolicity in showing the existence of a maximal geodesic is also very well-written.

The next chapter is pretty much independent of the rest, and was put in no doubt for the mathematician who desires to understand the Einstein equations as a set of nonlinear second-order hyperbolic partial differential equations with initial data on a 3-dimensional manifold, the famous Cauchy problem in general relativity.

Chapter 8 is the most important in the book, for its uses the constructions of earlier chapters to define the notion of a singularity in spacetime. The authors argue that singularities are points where physical laws break down and thus to characterize them one attempts to find out whether any such points have been removed, making spacetime "incomplete" in some sense. Such a notion of incompleteness is very meaningful in topological spaces with a positive definite metric, since in that case one can define completeness in terms of the convergence of Cauchy sequences. In spacetimes with a Lorentz metric, the authors discuss the notion of geodesic completeness for null and timelike geodesics. A very detailed treatment of the now famous singularity theorems is given, these theorems involving an inequality of the Ricci tensor. The last two chapters of the book are more physical in nature wherein the singularity problem is shown to have physical relevance via the occurence of black holes at the endpoint of evolution of massive stars.

A wonderful, foundational work of mathematical physics.
The early seventies saw a revolution in cosmology; for the first time, modern mathematical methods were applied to the discipline, with intriguing results. This book was (along with Penrose's articles) the seminal work in global general relativity. Often overlooked is that the first half of Hawking & Ellis is devoted to traditional GR via the tensor calculus, and the q-form conception. However, trying to learn GR with this volume is not recommended (instead, cf. D'Inverno). The meat-and-potatoes of the book is the discussion of gravitational collapse, and the singularity theorems. They provide us with intuitively good reasons for believing in some very strange phenomenon. If you're interested in the frontiers of modern science, and have the appropriate mathematical background, this book cannot be recommended too highly. The little yellow book stands supreme in the hierarchy of works of modern physics.

Suitable only for mathematicians
Don't be mislead by Hawking's popular works, this is a book by a mathematician written for mathematicians. Unless you studied mathematics to at least graduate level (you need to understand vector calculus, vector spaces and tensors to get anywhere) you are unlikely to get much from this book. Even then to read it at anything other than the most superficial level is very hard work. However even at the superficial level it gives one insights into some interesting aspects of general relativity.

The best book on modern General Relativity
This book of Stephen Hawking is the more elegant one on modern General Relativity and is my favorite book. It covers in brilliant form the gravitational collapse of a star, the theory of black holes, the space-time singularities, the causal structure of space-time, and in its end the initial singularity of the universe, popularly known as the Big Bang. The book is highly mathematical, and is pressuposed that the reader have studied basic abstract algebra and point set topology. But, for the readers highly interested in these subjects(as I am), this is not a obstacle. All theoretical physicists interested in modern General Relativity should have this book, a testimony of the Genius of Stephen Hawking. Definitively, a magnific book. ... Read more