Elementary Chemical Thermodynamics

By Bruce H. Mahan

Book Overview

This text introduces thermodynamic principles in a straightforward manner. Suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, it emphasizes chemical applications and physical interpretations... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486450546
• ISBN13: 9780486450544
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Very Good Presentation at an Elementary Level

This is a very good thermodynamics book. It would even be suitable as a first book on the subject, particularly for someone interested in the chemical aspects of the subject. There are only four chapters in this book. The first is a short introduction, the second covers the first law, the third chapter covers the second law, and fourth chapter provides some applications. The emphasis throughout is on chemical reactions. The treatments of both the first and the second law were very good. However I found his explanations of standard state and some of the work about equilibrium constants to be less than completely clear. In particular, the critical Example 3-5 seemed muddled not only by a typo in the formula, but by not even being completely answered. This critical error was a key factor in my decision to give this book only four stars. In addition, this book says a few things that are misleading or entirely wrong. For example, in the introduction the author states that thermodynamics can not be applied to nonequilibrium situations. I bet that's news to the authors of the significant number of books on nonequilibrium thermodynamics... This book includes quite a few examples and a good number of exercises all of which aid in understanding the material and which are mostly very simple. The book uses vaporization as the prototypical chemical reaction as it is, as the author says, the "simplest possible". Heat capacities are generally treated as constant in the examples and much of the exposition, but the author indicates how nonconstant heat capacities should be handled in the text. Really important formulas appear in bold text for ease of reference. Definitely recommended to anyone trying to gain an introductory understanding of chemical thermodynamics.