Statistical Mechanics by McQuarrie

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SUMMARY

Donald McQuarrie's book, Statistical Mechanics, is highly regarded for its comprehensive coverage of classical statistical mechanics, particularly in areas such as classical liquid theory, imperfect gases, Brownian motion, and time correlation functions. While the second half of the book delves into advanced topics, it notably lacks discussions on modern methods like renormalization group (RG) theory, mean field theories, and critical phenomena. Despite its strengths, the text is considered dated and may not include contemporary advancements in the field.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of classical statistical mechanics concepts
  • Familiarity with classical liquid theory
  • Knowledge of Brownian motion and time correlation functions
  • Basic grasp of imperfect gases
NEXT STEPS
  • Research modern statistical mechanics methods, including renormalization group (RG) theory
  • Explore mean field theories and their applications
  • Study critical phenomena in statistical mechanics
  • Investigate contemporary texts and resources on statistical mechanics
USEFUL FOR

Students, researchers, and educators in physics, particularly those focusing on statistical mechanics and classical theories, will benefit from this discussion.

For those who have used this book

  • Strongly Recommend

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Lightly Recommend

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Lightly don't Recommend

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Strongly don't Recommend

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    1
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This book is very, very good and the second half is very advanced but covers 'classical' statistical mechanics. There is no discussion of modern methods such as RG, mean field theories, magnetic/spin systems, critical phenomena, etc.

But it covers classical liquid theory, imperfect gases, brownian motion and time correlation functions better than most books I have seen. In particular, it covers classical liquid theory in more detail than I have ever seen.

Anyone who does stat mech should probably have this text, but it is dated.
 

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