In a simple and accessible form, this book presents a unified approach to the physics of the liquid state, both in and out of equilibrium. It discerns, behind the seemingly anarchistic proliferation of phenomena observable in the liquid state, the sequence of causes and effects and, where appropriate, the underlying rules that preside over the general principles. The book begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of statistical mechanics, such as classical and quantum mechanics, probability theory, and the kinetic theory of gases, before moving on to discuss theoretical methods in order to contextualise the study of liquids. The last final section is devoted to ordering in complex fluids. It includes detailed technical notes and explicit calculations, and will appeal to graduate students in physics and chemistry. It will also be of interest the reader interested in statistical mechanics and their application to the physics of dense matter. This book will certainly become an indispensable reference for students and researchers who wish to become familiar with a multifaceted process looking towards new horizons.

The statistical mechanical theory of liquids and solutions is a fundamental area of physical sciences with important implications for many industrial applications. This book shows how you can start from basic laws for the interactions and motions of microscopic particles and calculate how macroscopic systems of these particles behave, thereby explaining properties of matter at the scale that we perceive. Using this microscopic, molecular approach, the text emphasizes clarity of physical explanations for phenomena and mechanisms relevant to fluids, addressing the structure and behavior of liquids and solutions under various conditions. A notable feature is the author’s treatment of forces between particles that include nanoparticles, macroparticles, and surfaces. The book also provides an expanded, in-depth treatment of polar liquids and electrolytes.

Exploring important theories for understanding freezing and the liquid-glass transition, this book is useful for graduate students and researchers in soft-condensed matter physics, chemical physics and materials science. It details recent ideas and key developments, providing an up-to-date view of current understanding. The standard tools of statistical physics for the dense liquid state are covered. The freezing transition is described from the classical density functional approach. Classical nucleation theory as well as applications of density functional methods for nucleation of crystals from the melt are discussed, and compared to results from computer simulation of simple systems. Discussions of supercooled liquids form a major part of the book. Theories of slow dynamics and the dynamical heterogeneities of the glassy state are presented, as well as nonequilibrium dynamics and thermodynamic phase transitions at deep supercooling. Mathematical treatments are given in full detail so readers can learn the basic techniques.

"There is a symbiotic relationship between theoretical nonequilibrium statistical mechanics on the one hand and the theory and practice of computer simulation on the other. Sometimes, the initiative for progress has been with the pragmatic requirements of computer simulation and at other times, the initiative has been with the fundamental theory of nonequilibrium processes. This book summarises progress in this field up to 1990"--Publisher's description.

Presents a unified formulation from first principles of the Hailtonian and statistical mechanics of metallic and insulating crystals, amorphous solids, and liquids.

Statistical Mechanics discusses the fundamental concepts involved in understanding the physical properties of matter in bulk on the basis of the dynamical behavior of its microscopic constituents. The book emphasizes the equilibrium states of physical systems. The text first details the statistical basis of thermodynamics, and then proceeds to discussing the elements of ensemble theory. The next two chapters cover the canonical and grand canonical ensemble. Chapter 5 deals with the formulation of quantum statistics, while Chapter 6 talks about the theory of simple gases. Chapters 7 and 8 examine the ideal Bose and Fermi systems. In the next three chapters, the book covers the statistical mechanics of interacting systems, which includes the method of cluster expansions, pseudopotentials, and quantized fields. Chapter 12 discusses the theory of phase transitions, while Chapter 13 discusses fluctuations. The book will be of great use to researchers and practitioners from wide array of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, and engineering.

The focus is on the main physical ideas and mathematical methods of the microscopic theory of fluids, starting with the basic principles of statistical mechanics. The detailed derivation of results is accompanied by explanation of their physical meaning. The same approach refers to several specialized topics of the liquid state, most of which are recent developments, such as: a perturbation approach to the surface tension, an algebraic perturbation theory of polar nonpolarizable fluids and ferrocolloids, a semi-phenomenological theory of the Tolman length and some others.

This book gives a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the theory of "simple" liquids. The new second edition has been rearranged and considerably expanded to give a balanced account both of basic theory and of the advances of the past decade. It presents the main ideas of modern liquid state theory in a way that is both pedagogical and self-contained. The book should be accessible to graduate students and research workers, both experimentalists and theorists, who have a good background in elementary mechanics. - Compares theoretical deductions with experimental results - Molecular dynamics - Monte Carlo computations - Covers ionic, metallic, and molecular liquids

This textbook facilitates students’ ability to apply fundamental principles and concepts in classical thermodynamics to solve challenging problems relevant to industry and everyday life. It also introduces the reader to the fundamentals of statistical mechanics, including understanding how the microscopic properties of atoms and molecules, and their associated intermolecular interactions, can be accounted for to calculate various average properties of macroscopic systems. The author emphasizes application of the fundamental principles outlined above to the calculation of a variety of thermodynamic properties, to the estimation of conversion efficiencies for work production by heat interactions, and to the solution of practical thermodynamic problems related to the behavior of non-ideal pure fluids and fluid mixtures, including phase equilibria and chemical reaction equilibria. The book contains detailed solutions to many challenging sample problems in classical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics that will help the reader crystallize the material taught. Class-tested and perfected over 30 years of use by nine-time Best Teaching Award recipient Professor Daniel Blankschtein of the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT, the book is ideal for students of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and Materials Science, who will benefit greatly from in-depth discussions and pedagogical explanations of key concepts. Distills critical concepts, methods, and applications from leading full-length textbooks, along with the author’s own deep understanding of the material taught, into a concise yet rigorous graduate and advanced undergraduate text; Enriches the standard curriculum with succinct, problem-based learning strategies derived from the content of 50 lectures given over the years in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT; Reinforces concepts covered with detailed solutions to illuminating and challenging homework problems.

The book provides an introduction to the physics which underlies phase transitions and to the theoretical techniques currently at our disposal for understanding them. It will be useful for advanced undergraduates, for post-graduate students undertaking research in related fields, and for established researchers in experimental physics, chemistry, and metallurgy as an exposition of current theoretical understanding. - ;Recent developments have led to a good understanding of universality; why phase transitions in systems as diverse as magnets, fluids, liquid crystals, and superconductors can be brought under the same theoretical umbrella and well described by simple models. This book describes the physics underlying universality and then lays out the theoretical approaches now available for studying phase transitions. Traditional techniques, mean-field theory, series expansions, and the transfer matrix, are described; the Monte Carlo method is covered, and two chapters are devoted to the renormalization group, which led to a break-through in the field. The book will be useful as a textbook for a course in `Phase Transitions', as an introduction for graduate students undertaking research in related fields, and as an overview for scientists in other disciplines who work with phase transitions but who are not aware of the current tools in the armoury of the theoretical physicist. - ;Introduction; Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics; Models; Mean-field theories; The transfer matrix; Series expansions; Monte Carlo simulations; The renormalization group; Implementations of the renormalization group. -