Statistical Mechanics: A Set Of Lectures

by Richard P. Feynman

Book Overview

This classic graduate lecture note volume on statistical mechanics focuses on Physics, rather than mathematics. It provides a concise introduction to basic concepts and a clear presentation of difficult topics, while challenging the student to reflect upon as yet unanswered questions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201360764
• ISBN13: 9780201360769
• Release Date: March 1998
• Publisher: CRC Press
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A Solid Overview

The Feynman Lectures on Statistical Mechanics contain a great deal of very useful information, and each page is full of solid work without bothering too much with unnecessary details. The book also covers all the bases very well, hitting plenty of good examples, such as spin waves, and the obligatory superconductivity chapter is a solid introduction. My only complaint is that the ordering of the book is a little haphazard. I understand that it is difficult to include quantum and classical statistical mechanics in one continuous run, but the book seems to jump around a bit. All this considered, the book is probably a must-buy for people interested in statistical physics, as it is one of the better general overview books available (I despise the Reif; it needs to be updated and completely rearranged), and, as an added bonus, you get to see the Onsager solution to the 2-D Ising model. Cheers!

a tremendous book

when i was undergrad, i read Prof. Kerson Huang's stat mech. i think that book is good. everything is covered systematically, but everything is explained 'evenly'. if u r a careful reader, u still get the ideas of the essence, like partition function plays the central role of stat mech, etc. now, i am reading feynman's book. it's totally diff from huang's. it's full of excitement. he put the principle of stat mech which is the relation b/w partition function and probability at the very beginning. all the other aspects in stat mech follow so straight forword and there are endless novel derivations in this book. i feel many of my previous understandings are interconnected by reading this book. it's simply great, just like the other books written by feynman.

extraordinary Masterpiece!

Richard Feynman said:"What I cannot create, I do not understand!". I am really amazed by his unique style of doing physics: he always create anything from scratch, always has his unique point of view, even on an old problem. All I can say about Feynman is Genius!!! This book is about Feynman's extraordinary viewpoint on statistical mechanics. I can bet that this is an unique S.M book.but i don't think it's for beginner, I suggest you should finish a standard statistical mechanics course before you read this one. I can not find suitable words to admire this great book, so I quit here, but in the end, I strongly recommend this book to all physicists, physics-major students!

Statistics that "moos you along"

A classic by one of the best. I wish I could say I understandit all, but it rings true in many ways. His famous quote"I can definitely say that Nobody understands Quantum Mechanics"is perhaps this biggest "Moo Clue".

great book on statistical and condensed matter physics

This is a wonderful book written by one of the greatest teachers of physics on a subject matter often shrouded in mystery. I found it tremendously helpful in understanding many topics in condensed matter physics on a deeper, more conceptual level. The chapters on second quantization, superconductivity and superfluidity are especially illuminating, and the latter is far surperior in clarity than anything I have come across (which is perhaps not surprising considering Feymnman developed much of the theory himself). I highly recommend this book as a supplimentary text for any graduate-level Statistical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics or Solid State course you may be taking.