June 2024
Intermediate to advanced
336 pages
8h
English
In this chapter
In his 1975 textbook States of Matter (Prentice-Hall), science writer David L. Goodstein starts with the following ominous introduction:
Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent most of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics.
We will probably never know why Goodstein strikes up such a depressing note (and we can ...
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