Elements of Statistical Mechanics

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece
Review: I got know ter Haar from a scientfic article on foundation of statistical mechanics in Review of Modern Physics. This article discussed some important principles of Statistical Mechanics in quantum mechanics after Boltzman, Gibbs and Erenfest's study in classical mechanics. The book is in the reference. It provides the basis of his discussion. I can not compare the greatness of ter Haar and the above 3 masters in physics, but I'm sure he is also a excellent physicist. His dealed with the problems in Statistical Mechanics in a lucid but rigorous way. It is not easy to do this for common people, but he did because he really "understood" physics. Furthermore, this book covered a very wide range of things, not only the techniques for calculation which can find in every textbook of S-M, but also the essential of S-M, its beauty, strength and problems which I think as the spirit of physics. Not every book can do this.