Thermodynamics

This book provides an accessible yet thorough introduction to thermodynamics, crafted and class-tested over many years of teaching. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, this book delivers clear descriptions of how to think about the mathematics and physics involved. The content has been carefully developed in consultation with a large number of instructors, teaching courses worldwide, to ensure wide applicability to modules on thermodynamics. Modern applications of thermodynamics (in physics and related areas) are included throughout—something not offered to the same degree by existing texts in the field. Features: A sophisticated approach to the subject that is suitable for advanced undergraduate students and above Modern applications of thermodynamics included throughout To be followedby volumes on statistical mechanics, which can be used in conjunction with this book on courses which cover both thermodynamics and statistical mechanics

SECTION I. Thermodynamic Basics CHAPTER 1. Concepts of thermodynamics CHAPTER 2. Second law of thermodynamics: Direction of heat flow CHAPTER 3. Entropy CHAPTER 4. Thermodynamic potentials: The four ways to say energy CHAPTER 5. Thermodynamics of radiation CHAPTER 6. Phase and chemical equilibrium CHAPTER 7. Statistical entropy: From micro to macro CHAPTER 8. Third law of thermodynamics: You can’t get to T = 0 CHAPTER 9. To this point SECTION II. Additional Topics in Thermodynamics CHAPTER 10. Carathéodory formulation of the second law CHAPTER 11. Negative absolute temperature CHAPTER 12. Thermodynamics of information CHAPTER 13. Black hole thermodynamics CHAPTER 14. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics CHAPTER 15. Superconductors and superfluids Epilogue. Where to now?

James H. Luscombe is Professor of Physics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He received his PhD in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1983. After post-doctoral positions at the University of Toronto and Iowa State University, he joined the Research Laboratory of Texas Instruments, where he worked on the development of nanoelectronic devices, before joining the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994. He was Chair of the Department of Physics between 2003 and 2009. He teaches a wide variety of topics, including general relativity, statistical mechanics, mathematical methods, and quantum computation.