Introduction to Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

Goals of Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

How do we describe large systems? How do we understand properties of systems with complex interactions? What is equilibrium and what is not equilibrium? What constitutes a phase transition and how is it characterized?

Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics seeks to answer these and many other questions about emergent properties of bulk systems.

Resources

  1. Thermodynamics and an introduction to Thermostatistics by Herbert Callen
  2. Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Molecular Simulation by Mark Tuckerman