Elementary Statistical Physics by Charles Kittel

Elementary Statistical Physics by Charles Kittel

Noteworthy for the philosophical subtlety of its foundations and the elegance of its problem-solving methods, statistical mechanics can be employed in a broad range of applications -- among them, astrophysics, biology, chemistry, nuclear and solid state physics, communications engineering, metallurgy, and mathematics. Geared toward graduate students in physics, this text covers such important topics as stochastic processes and transport theory in order to provide students with a working knowledge of statistical mechanics.
To explain the fundamentals of his subject, the author uses the method of ensembles developed by J. Willard Gibbs. Topics include the properties of the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions; the interrelated subjects of fluctuations, thermal noise, and Brownian movement; and the thermodynamics of irreversible processes.
Negative temperature, magnetic energy, density matrix methods, and the Kramers-Kronig causality relations are treated briefly. Most sections include illustrative problems. Appendix. 28 figures. 1 table.

From 1951 to 1978, Charles Kittel was a professor of solid state physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He had previously worked at Bell Labs in the solid state physics group. His physics work as an undergraduate was a M.I.T. and at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory. His doctorate was earned at the University of Wisconsin.

He is a member of the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received the Oliver Buckley Award for Solid State Physics and the American Association of Physics Teachers' Oersted Medal. He is the author of a popular solid state physics introductory textbook.