A.M. Glazer – författare

Statistical mechanics is the science of predicting the observable properties of a multiple bodied system by studying the statistics of the behaviour of its individual constituents, whether they are atoms, molecules, photons, etc. It provides the link between macroscopic and microscopic states, and as such has the potential to be one of the most satisfying parts of an undergraduate science course - linking in an elegant manner the quantum world with everyday observations of systems containing large numbers of particles.This excellent text is designed to introduce the fundamentals of the subject of statistical mechanics at a level suitable for students who meet the subject for the first time. The treatment given here is designed to give the student a feeling for the topic of statistical mechanics without being held back by the need to understand complex mathematics. The text is concise and concentrates on the understanding of fundamental aspects. Numerous questions with worked solutions are given throughout.

Statistical mechanics is the science of predicting the observable properties of a multiple bodied system by studying the statistics of the behaviour of its individual constituents, whether they are atoms, molecules, photons, etc. It provides the link between macroscopic and microscopic states, and as such has the potential to be one of the most satisfying parts of an undergraduate science course - linking in an elegant manner the quantum world with everyday observations of systems containing large numbers of particles.This excellent text is designed to introduce the fundamentals of the subject of statistical mechanics at a level suitable for students who meet the subject for the first time. The treatment given here is designed to give the student a feeling for the topic of statistical mechanics without being held back by the need to understand complex mathematics. The text is concise and concentrates on the understanding of fundamental aspects. Numerous questions with worked solutions are given throughout.

Crystal Clear takes you behind the scenes in the life of one of the most prominent scientists of the twentieth century, William Lawrence Bragg (WLB) - an innovative genius, who together with his father, William Henry Bragg (WHB) founded and developed a whole new branch of science, X-ray Crystallography. The main body of the text contains the hitherto unpublished autobiographies of both WLB and his wife, Alice. Alice Bragg was a public figure in her own right. She was Mayor of Cambridge and National Chairman of the Marriage Guidance Council among other roles. She and WLB were as different as chalk and cheese. Their autobiographies complement each other to give a rounded picture of the real personalities behind their public appearance. They write of their travels, their family life, their friends and their joys and sorrows. They write most of all about each other.Their younger daughter, Patience Thomson, provides anecdotes and vignettes, bringing her parents to life. She has also included extracts from previously unpublished letters and from articles which Alice Bragg wrote for National newspapers. The result is an unusual insight into the lives of two distinguished people. The two accounts reveal a fascinating interaction between these two characters, neither of whom could have achieved on this scale without the other. There is an underlying love story here which humanises and transforms. This is a unique book, adopting an original viewpoint, which will take the reader far beyond the scope of a normal biography.