The Concept of Probability in Statistical Physics

ISBN-13: 9780521621281 / Angielski / Twarda / 1999 / 280 str.

California) Y. M. Guttmann (Stanford University

Opis

Foundational issues in statistical mechanics and the more general question of how probability is to be understood in the context of physical theories are both areas that have been neglected by philosophers of physics. This book fills an important gap in the literature by providing the most systematic study to date of how to interpret probabilistic assertions in the context of statistical mechanics. The book will be of particular interest to philosophers of science, physicists and mathematicians interested in foundational issues, and also to historians of science.

Recenzje

'… it will become the standard reference for philosophers of science on foundational questions of statistical physics and related matters. It will be likewise useful as an advanced textbook.' Jan von Plato, author of Creating Modern Probability

Spis treści

Introduction; 1. The Neo-Laplacian approach to statistical mechanics; 2. Subjectivism and the Ergodic approach; 3. The Haar measure; 4. Measure and topology in statistical mechanics; 5. Three solutions; Appendix I: mathematical preliminaries; Appendix II: on the foundations of probability; Appendix III: probability in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics; Author index; Subject index.