Customer Reviews (2)

Thermodynamics - the Gibbs way
Thermodynamics can be a difficult subject to master because it is presented in different ways in different disciplines.For example, the terminology and symbols used by mechanical engineers are often different from those used by physical chemists, and so on.The papers by Gibbs contained in this book, represent thefoundation of the thermodynamics of mixtures.These are some of the greatest scientific papers ever written.The papers contain a comprehensive treatment of equilibrium thermodynamics and include more advanced treatments, e.g. strained solids, capillarity, electrical forces, etc.

After reading thisbook, I realised that much of what has been printed in modern texts often starts out with an approximation but the reader is not told that it is an approximation.This leads to confusion.In the Gibbs work, the reader is always aware of the approximations involved.For example, Gibbs built his themodynamics by starting with the simplest assumtpions, and then successively adding detail.Much of what is reported in modern texts is based on the initial assumption and ignores the later detail.For example, modern texts usually 'gloss-over' the study of capillarity.One would conclude from that treatment that Gibbs perhaps did no work on capillarity.However, on the contrary, Gibbs gave a very comprehensive (and remarkable) treatment of capillarity.

The papers in the book are at times hard to read, because they use follow a strict mathematical logic, and because Gibbs often says " it follows that ...". In many cases, it was not obvious to me how "it followed that ...".Nevertheless, this is a must-read for anyone interested in thermodynamics, and the Gibbs treatment is usually clearer than that given in modern texts.

Thoroughly recommended, and this book is now my prime reference on thermodynamics.

Gibbs's important but obscure masterpiece
This is a reprint of his original papers which cement the mathematical foundations of thermodynamics. Gibbs's work is a work of genius, but this book is an extremely challenging read. Writing in viscous 19th centuryprose, Gibbs is never one to use a sentence where a paragraph will do. Veryfew non-native English speakers who are experts in thermodynamics have theability in English to read this from cover-to-cover. The questions one isleft asking are 'Has the difficulty of this text slowed the furtherdevelopment of thermodynamics? Would any errors in Gibbs's work be spottedswiftly?' My answers to these questions are 'Yes,' and 'No,' respectively.Anyone who hopes to make advances in the fundamental theory orinterpretation of thermodynamics (assuming, contrary to current dogma, thatsuch advances can be made) needs to read the majority of this book.

Someof my views on thermodynamics are given in: D. J. Bottomley, Jpn. J. Appl.Phys. Part 2, vol. 36, L1464 (1997). ... Read more

Product Description
GENERAL PREFACE 'TIIEN I undertook to adapt the lectures of Professor Gibbs on VECTOlt ANALYSrs for publication in the Ya,le Bicentennial Series, Professor Gibbs himself was already so fully engaged upon his work to appear in the same series, Elementary Principles in Statistical lIIec/tanics, that it was unoerstood no material n.ssist.1.nce in the composition of this book could be expected from him. For this reason he wished me to feel entirely free to use my own discretion alike in thc selection of the topics to be treated and in the mode of treatment. It has been my endeavor to usc tJ"le freedom thus gl'aIlt~ll only in so far as was necessary for presenting his method in textrbook fonn. By far the gI'eater part of the ma.terial used in the following pages has been taken from the course of lectures on Vector Analysis delivered annuaHy at the University by })l:ofessor Gibbs. Some use, however, h3S })een made of the c.hapters on Vector Annlysis in i-Ir. Oliver H

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS; PREFACE DY PROFESS01~ GIlJDS; CIIAPTER I; ADDITIO~ A!>"'D SCALAR ~lULTIPLICATION; ARTS; 1-3 SCALAltS ANn V E::CTOJtS; 4 EQUA{, A~D XULJ VF;CTOJtS; ~ TilE POINT OF VIEW OF THIS CDAPTER ?; 6-1; 8-10; 11; 12; 13-16; 17; 18-19; 20-2~; 23-24; 25; SCALAR ~IULTIPLICATro:-: TnE N£GATIVE SIG~ ?; ADDITION T8£ PAltALLt:LOGnA~l LAW' ?; SUBTnACTlO~ ? '; LAWS GOVEnNIXG TIIK FOR1WOJXC; OI'ERATlO~S; COMPOXE~1'a OJ' YFCTORS V FCTOn FQu A 'J:lO~S ?; THE 'rIlHIi:F USIT V"F:CTOltS i, j, k ; ApPr,rCATIOXS TO SUXDny pnODlE)IS IY GEO)IETRY; VECTOR ltt:rAT(QXS I~DEPE:::S-OE~T OF THE ORIOlN ? ?; Cl::~-rFRS 0"" OJtAVCTY BAJYCEXTRlC coonDIXATES ?; Tny;; USE OF Vl!:CTORS TO l>FNOTE AR£AS; StiM~{AnY OF CUAPTFR J ?; EX£}CISF$ ON CHAI'TKR I; CHAPTER II; J)lRECT AXD SKEW PRODUCTS OF VECTORS; PAGE; ? vii; ix; 1; 4; G; 7; 8; 11; 12; 14; 18; 21; 27; 39; 46; ? 61; ? 62; 21-28 THE nmECT, SCAlAn, OR DOT PRODUCT OF TWO vECTonS 55; 29-$0 Tm>; D1S ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) was the greatest American mathematician and physicist of the nineteenth century. He played a key role in the development of vector analysis (his book on this topic is also reissued in this series), but his deepest work was in the development of thermodynamics and statistical physics. This book, Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics, first published in 1902, gives his mature vision of these subjects. Mathematicians, physicists and engineers familiar with such things as Gibbs entropy, Gibbs inequality and the Gibbs distribution will find them here discussed in Gibbs' own words. ... Read more