This book presents a critical and modern analysis of the conceptual foundations of statistical mechanics as laid down in Boltzmann's works. The author emphasizes the relation between microscopic reversibility and macroscopic irreversibility. Students will find a clear and detailed explanation of fundamental concepts such as equipartition, entropy, and ergodicity. They will learn about Brownian motion, the modern treatment of the thermodynamic limit phase transitions, the microscopic and macroscopic theory of the coexistence of phases, statistical mechanics of stationary states, and fluctuations and dissipation in chaotic motions.

The author is one of the leading scientists in mathematical physics and a well-known expert in statistical mechanics This work on the fundamental concepts is unparalleled in the literature Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Zusammenfassung
From the reviews
"Gallavotti has written a somewhat ideological and quite personal book. Certainly one may disagree with him on some issues. But he has expert knowledge of what he discusses and also of many things he chooses not to discuss. And since he also knows the history of the subject, his opinion must be taken seriously. We may thus thank Gallavotti for giving us a fresh, authorative and readable introduction to a fundamental area of conceptual physics." (D. Ruelle, Physics Today, 2001)

Inhalt

1. Classical Statistical Mechanics.- 2. Statistical Ensembles.- 3. Equipartition and Critique.- 4. Thermodynamic Limit and Stability.- 5. Phase Transitions.- 6. Coexistence of Phases.- 7. Exactly Soluble Models.- 8. Brownian Motion.- 9. Coarse Graining and Nonequilibrium.- Name Index.