On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 22:18:48 GMT, Norman Yarvin
wrote:

In article ,
jim rozen wrote:
In article , Norman Yarvin says...

... Fermi's book on
thermodynamics is much better (as befits one of the greatest physicists
of the last century): it spends about the same number of pages on a
really good explanation of everything up to and including entropy. It's
not easy reading, but it isn't difficult for stupid reasons; it is as
easy as the subject permits.

Small world. We went out on a treck to a Borders bookstore in
a nearby town, and they had that small volume on the shelf. It
did not however, have any section on ideal gasses.

That's because it deals with ideal gases in every section of the book!
For instance, in the section on entropy, it first gives the general
argument and definition, then applies that definition to ideal gases to
get the formula for the entropy of an ideal gas.

I probably
should have bought it anyway.

Being a Dover book, it is cheap enough that one is not likely to regret
the purchase.

$9.95 according to the website. 157 pages. I'll be visiting
Borders next week.

Geez, we should organize a bulk purchase. I think there are quite a
few of us that could learn a thing or two from that book.