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Essentials of Thermodynamics
Published by SRI Books, Singapore, 2021. Paperback, 377 pages, ISBN: 979-8712154401
Essentials of Thermodynamics offers a fresh perspective on classical
thermodynamics and its explanation of natural phenomena. It combines
fundamental principles with applications to offer an integrated resource
for students, teachers and experts alike. The essence of classic texts has
been distilled to give a balanced and in-depth treatment, including a
detailed history of ideas which explains how thermodynamics evolved
without knowledge of the underlying atomic structure of matter. The
principles are illustrated by a vast range of applications, such as osmotic
pressure, how solids melt and liquids boil, the incredible race to reach
absolute zero, and the modern theme of the renormalization group. Topics
are handled using a variety of techniques, which helps readers see how
concepts such as entropy and free energy can be applied to many
situations, and in diverse ways.
The book has a large number of solved examples and problems in each
chapter, as well as a carefully selected guide to further reading. The
treatment of traditional topics like the three laws of thermodynamics,
Carnot cycles, Clapeyron equation, phase equilibria, and dilute solutions
is considerably more detailed than usual. For example, the chapter on
Carnot cycles discusses exotic cases like the photon cycle along with more
practical ones like the Otto, Diesel and Rankine cycles. There is a chapter
on critical phenomena that is modern and yet highly pedagogical and contains
a first principles calculation of the critical exponents of Van der Waals
systems. Topics like entropy constants, surface thermodynamics, and
superconducting phase transitions are explained in depth while maintaining
accessibility for different readers.
The Author:
After obtaining his PhD in Theoretical Physics from UCSB, N.D. Hari Dass worked at
UCLA, the Max Planck Institute for Physics (Munich), the Niels Bohr Institute
(Copenhagen), CERN, NIKHEF (Amsterdam), KEK (Japan), Utrecht and Amsterdam
Universities, the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Chennai), the Chennai
Mathematical Institute, and the Indian Institute of Science. He has taught extensively,
both at undergraduate and graduate levels. His major areas of research are Quantum
Field Theories, Astrophysics and Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. He has about
135 publications. In 2004 he built the then India’s fastest academic supercomputer
KABRU which was among the Top 500 Supercomputers of the world. He is passionate
about science outreach. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences,
Allahabad, India. He currently lives in Mysore and can be contacted
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