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Thermodynamics and an introduction to thermostatistics

Most people learning thermodynamics probably want to do so for practical reasons. My feeling is that the subject is important from a philosophical point of view. Thermodynamics, and an introduction to thermostatistics by H.B. Callen is suitable for those with either view, since it gives a solid grounding in thermodynamics, but always keeping in mind the deeper questions of the subject. Part I of the book deals with classical thermodynamics - unlike most such books which emphasise the microscopic explanation of the subject. Part II, on statistical mechanics, gets on to this aspect of thermodynamics. Part III is a short section on foundational questions.

The book has chapters the third law and quantum fluids as well as on phase transitions and critical phenomena. If you're primarily interested in the applications of thermodynamics though then this book might not be for you. The theory is there - for example the chapter on irreversible thermodynamics looks at thermoelectric devices - but the book doesn't go into great detail explaining how it is used - there are no diagrams illustrating such devices. But if you want to to get a thorough understanding of a range of thermodynamic topics then you should consider working through this textbook.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 512 pages
ISBN: 0471862568
Salesrank: 85620
Weight:1.9 lbs

Published: 1985 Wiley

Amazon price $107.06

Marketplace:New from $57.98:Used from $39.00

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 512 pages
ISBN: 0471862568
Salesrank: 532145
Weight:1.9 lbs

Published: 1985 John Wiley & Sons

Amazon price £72.67

Marketplace:New from £54.45:Used from £53.45

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 512 pages
ISBN: 0471862568
Salesrank: 216655
Weight:1.9 lbs

Published: 1985 Wiley

Amazon price CDN$ 134.95

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 134.95:Used from CDN$ 86.66

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Product Description
The only text to cover both thermodynamic and statistical mechanics--allowing students to fully master thermodynamics at the macroscopic level. Presents essential ideas on critical phenomena developed over the last decade in simple, qualitative terms. This new edition maintains the simple structure of the first and puts new emphasis on pedagogical considerations. Thermostatistics is incorporated into the text without eclipsing macroscopic thermodynamics, and is integrated into the conceptual framework of physical theory.

Product Description

The only text to cover both thermodynamic and statistical mechanics--allowing students to fully master thermodynamics at the macroscopic level. Presents essential ideas on critical phenomena developed over the last decade in simple, qualitative terms. This new edition maintains the simple structure of the first and puts new emphasis on pedagogical considerations. Thermostatistics is incorporated into the text without eclipsing macroscopic thermodynamics, and is integrated into the conceptual framework of physical theory.

The Most Elegant Presentation of Equilibrium Thermodynamics *****
Callen's axiomatic presentation of equilibrium thermodynamics inarguably is not only one of the best textbooks on thermodynamics specifically but also one of the most elegantly written science textbooks in general. The mathematical formalism of thermodynamics and its consequences are logically and completely espoused. Numerous problems are supplied throughout in an effort to complement and reinforce concepts. The putatively paradoxical statement: "generality is simultaneously the strength and weakness of thermodynamics" is succinctly "justified" in an appendix to the text: An Interpretative Postlude which discusses the underlying symmetries of the physical laws and their relationship to thermodynamic extremum principles. The spartan chapters on "thermostatistics" add insight to thermodynamics in a way that is similar in spirit to "atoms and molecules" in introductory undergraduate thermodynamics lectures and therefore, should not be necessarily dismissed.

The Most Elegant Presentation of Equilibrium Thermodynamics *****

Callen's axiomatic presentation of equilibrium thermodynamics inarguably is not only one of the best textbooks on thermodynamics specifically but also one of the most elegantly written science textbooks in general. The mathematical formalism of thermodynamics and its consequences are logically and completely espoused. Numerous problems are supplied throughout in an effort to complement and reinforce concepts. The putatively paradoxical statement: "generality is simultaneously the strength and weakness of thermodynamics" is succinctly "justified" in an appendix to the text: An Interpretative Postlude which discusses the underlying symmetries of the physical laws and their relationship to thermodynamic extremum principles. The spartan chapters on "thermostatistics" add insight to thermodynamics in a way that
is similar in spirit to "atoms and molecules" in introductory undergraduate thermodynamics lectures and therefore, should not be necessarily dismissed.

My favorite thermo book... *****
I've read Callen's book twice. It never gets old. I wish it went into greater depth on the connection between the thermodynamics theory as originally developed by Carnot, and the reformulation by Gibbs and Boltzmann. But even despite this omission I give it 5 stars.

My favorite thermo book... *****

I've read Callen's book twice. It never gets old. I wish it went into greater depth on the connection between the thermodynamics theory as originally developed by Carnot, and the reformulation by Gibbs and Boltzmann. But even despite this omission I give it 5 stars.

Wrong Edition Sent *
Although the edition was correct, the book was a paperback when I specifically paid for hardbound. Even more frustrating was the fact that it was not eligible for return.

Wrong Edition Sent *

Although the edition was correct, the book was a paperback when I specifically paid for hardbound. Even more frustrating was the fact that it was not eligible for return.

Key to undestanf statistical physics *****
The postulational approach is really great. This book tooks away all the question I had about the connection between thermodynamics and statistical physics. I think it's a good idea to read Fermi's thermodynamics also. To see how smart one can be when using thermodynamics.

Key to undestanf statistical physics *****

The postulational approach is really great. This book tooks away all the question I had about the connection between thermodynamics and statistical physics. I think it's a good idea to read Fermi's thermodynamics also. To see how smart one can be when using thermodynamics.

nice book, nice service *****
I am both satisfied with amazon service and with the book.

nice book, nice service *****

I am both satisfied with amazon service and with the book.

To really understand classical thermodynamics *****
A most intelligent book on the subject. The presentation of the axiomatics of classical thermodynamics and the derivation of the properties of system is the most rigorous I have ever read. Far away above most of the books on the subject. Excellent book for teachers also

To really understand classical thermodynamics *****

A most intelligent book on the subject. The presentation of the axiomatics of classical thermodynamics and the derivation of the properties of system is the most rigorous I have ever read. Far away above most of the books on the subject. Excellent book for teachers also

Insightful Postulational Approach to Thermodynamics *****
Why did I buy an older thermodynamics text, one first published in 1960? I trust the advice of other Amazon reviewers. They say: 1) The best treatment of classical thermodynamics that I have seen. The chapters on phase transitions are excellent and the mechanical model used to illustrate critical phenomena is brilliant. 2) It is far better than most books on the subject. 3) I think this book has no competition as a text in thermodynamics. It is the ideal preparation for a book like Landau's Statistical Physics. 4) The overview of the fundamentals of thermodynamics is without rival. 5) I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics, which to me is quite boring and clumsy. A few reviewers argued that Callen's text was less suitable for engineering students (too few heat-mechanical energy conversion problems) and chemical engineers (too few chemical mixture problems). I agree with the majority. Thermodynamics, an Introduction to the Physical Theories of Equilibrium Thermostatics and Irreversible Thermodynamics, is an exceptional text. I give it five stars. H. B. Callen offers a fascinating and insightful postulational approach to thermodynamics rather than the conventional inductive approach. He targets first year graduate students and advanced undergraduates; however, even readers proficient with advanced thermodynamics should find Callen's approach stimulating. The text has three primary sections: General Principles of Classical Thermodynamics (200 pages), Representative Applications (65 pages), and Fluctuations and Irreversible Thermodynamics (50 pages). An extensive appendix, some 50 pages, offers a useful review of pertinent mathematics and other relevant topics. Answers are not provided to the chapter problems. Interspersed throughout are brief chapters that review useful mathematical techniques. I appreciated the discussions of the Euler equation, the Legendre transformations, the extremum principle in the Legendre transformed representations, and the Maxwell relations (not the Maxwell EM equations). Callen provides useful tools like a thermodynamic mnemonic diagram (first introduced by Max Born) and associated procedures for reducing the formal manipulation of partial derivates to "a simple recipe". Callen's text has been widely used. I reviewed the 1960 first edition, eighteenth printing. A second edition published in 1984 is easier to find and is often used today as a supplementary text. Thanks again for the advice from previous reviewers.

Insightful Postulational Approach to Thermodynamics *****

Why did I buy an older thermodynamics text, one first published in 1960? I trust the advice of other Amazon reviewers.

They say: 1) The best treatment of classical thermodynamics that I have seen. The chapters on phase transitions are excellent and the mechanical model used to illustrate critical phenomena is brilliant. 2) It is far better than most books on the subject. 3) I think this book has no competition as a text in thermodynamics. It is the ideal preparation for a book like Landau's Statistical Physics. 4) The overview of the fundamentals of thermodynamics is without rival. 5) I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics, which to me is quite boring and clumsy.

A few reviewers argued that Callen's text was less suitable for engineering students (too few heat-mechanical energy conversion problems) and chemical engineers (too few chemical mixture problems).

I agree with the majority. Thermodynamics, an Introduction to the Physical Theories of Equilibrium Thermostatics and Irreversible Thermodynamics, is an exceptional text. I give it five stars.

H. B. Callen offers a fascinating and insightful postulational approach to thermodynamics rather than the conventional inductive approach. He targets first year graduate students and advanced undergraduates; however, even readers proficient with advanced thermodynamics should find Callen's approach stimulating.

The text has three primary sections: General Principles of Classical Thermodynamics (200 pages), Representative Applications (65 pages), and Fluctuations and Irreversible Thermodynamics (50 pages). An extensive appendix, some 50 pages, offers a useful review of pertinent mathematics and other relevant topics. Answers are not provided to the chapter problems.

Interspersed throughout are brief chapters that review useful mathematical techniques. I appreciated the discussions of the Euler equation, the Legendre transformations, the extremum principle in the Legendre transformed representations, and the Maxwell relations (not the Maxwell EM equations). Callen provides useful tools like a thermodynamic mnemonic diagram (first introduced by Max Born) and associated procedures for reducing the formal manipulation of partial derivates to "a simple recipe".

Callen's text has been widely used. I reviewed the 1960 first edition, eighteenth printing. A second edition published in 1984 is easier to find and is often used today as a supplementary text.

Thanks again for the advice from previous reviewers.

Formalism ****
Best treatment of extensive, intensive variables, thermodynamic potentials thermodynamic stability. I relied on the first edition of this text, along with other texts, for years while teaching thermo and stat mech. However, I preferred Gibbs's original argument for proving the equivalence of energy minimun at constant entropy to entropy maximum at constant energy. The book's weakness is that a student can learn everything in it without being able to apply the subject in the laboratory (some of the exercises are good in this regard, though). The opposite can be said about Zemansky. Forget Reif, a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas unsystematically organized and presented.

Formalism ****

Best treatment of extensive, intensive variables, thermodynamic potentials thermodynamic stability. I relied on the first edition of this text, along with other texts, for years while teaching thermo and stat mech. However, I preferred Gibbs's original argument for proving the equivalence of energy minimun at constant entropy to entropy maximum at constant energy. The book's weakness is that a student can learn everything in it without being able to apply the subject in the laboratory (some of the exercises are good in this regard, though). The opposite can be said about Zemansky. Forget Reif, a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas unsystematically organized and presented.

Right book, wrong edition... *****
The book gets five stars, but with the one caveat that this applies only to the first edition and not the second. Callen's book was the first to really push the axiomatic approach to classical thermodynamics, and the quality of the pedagogy on the subject prior to the emergence of the original version of this text in 1960 was, shall we say, "lacking." That said, actually spending money on the portion of this book devoted to statistical mechanics, when there are significantly clearer and cheaper presentations to be found (such as that by Chandler), is a little silly. The best thing about the introduction of new editions, however, is that they frequently drive down the price of the old - one can now easily find used, hardcover copies of the original version of this text for significantly less than half the cost of the new edition.

Right book, wrong edition... *****

The book gets five stars, but with the one caveat that this applies only to the first edition and not the second. Callen's book was the first to really push the axiomatic approach to classical thermodynamics, and the quality of the pedagogy on the subject prior to the emergence of the original version of this text in 1960 was, shall we say, "lacking." That said, actually spending money on the portion of this book devoted to statistical mechanics, when there are significantly clearer and cheaper presentations to be found (such as that by Chandler), is a little silly. The best thing about the introduction of new editions, however, is that they frequently drive down the price of the old - one can now easily find used, hardcover copies of the original version of this text for significantly less than half the cost of the new edition.

Beautiful treatment of classical thermodynamics *****
leaving aside the stat mech part, the book is just perfect. The presentation of the subject is not the traditional one (like, for example, Fermi's thermodynamics); it begins with the fundamental equation (Entropy versus the rest of the extensive variables) and all the postulates, and then goes on thru all thermodynamics. I found this approach much clearer, and more fun. From the first moment you are aware that with just one state equation (an equation between the intensive variables), you do not know the system completely. The thermodynamic potentials are introduced using in an explicit way the idea of the Legendre transform (but the math involved is very simple) and so the essence of the therm. potentials can be readily understood. I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics, which to me is quite boring and clumsy.

Beautiful treatment of classical thermodynamics *****

leaving aside the stat mech part, the book is just perfect. The presentation of the subject is not the traditional one (like, for example, Fermi's thermodynamics); it begins with the fundamental equation (Entropy versus the rest of the extensive variables) and all the postulates, and then goes on thru all thermodynamics. I found this approach much clearer, and more fun. From the first moment you are aware that with just one state equation (an equation between the intensive variables), you do not know the system completely. The thermodynamic potentials are introduced using in an explicit way the idea of the Legendre transform (but the math involved is very simple) and so the essence of the therm. potentials can be readily understood. I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics, which to me is quite boring and clumsy.

A classic text on the fundementals of Thermodynamics ****
The books overview of the fundementals of thermo is without rival. This book lays out the laws of thermo in a postulate form. From these postulates you can derive the entire theroy of classical thermo. This can be used to solve practical problems and derive thermodynamic relationships. It is a great refference. This book takes you through the theory of thermo, but for a more practicle look at thermo see Smith and Van Ess Introduction to thermodymanics for chemical Engineers. The first half of this book is perfect for the begining chemist or Chem Engineer. It is a great book for grad students also I give this book five stars for the first half the second half is not all that great. Buy T. Hills Introduction to Statistical Mechanics for the thermostatistic part. It is from dover press and is cheap all Hills books are great and from dover.

A classic text on the fundementals of Thermodynamics ****

The books overview of the fundementals of thermo is without rival. This book lays out the laws of thermo in a postulate form. From these postulates you can derive the entire theroy of classical thermo. This can be used to solve practical problems and derive thermodynamic relationships. It is a great refference.

This book takes you through the theory of thermo, but for a more practicle look at thermo see Smith and Van Ess Introduction to thermodymanics for chemical Engineers.

The first half of this book is perfect for the begining chemist or Chem Engineer. It is a great book for grad students also

I give this book five stars for the first half the second half is not all that great. Buy T. Hills Introduction to Statistical Mechanics for the thermostatistic part. It is from dover press and is cheap all Hills books are great and from dover.

Herbert B Callen

Thermodynamics and an introduction to thermostatistics