{"product_id":"the-road-to-maxwells-demon-conceptual-foundations-of-statistical-mechanics-paperback-9781107424326","title":"The Road to Maxwell's Demon; Conceptual Foundations of Statistical Mechanics (Paperback \/ softback) 9781107424326","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Road to Maxwell's Demon\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eConceptual Foundations of Statistical Mechanics\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA philosophical perspective to statistical mechanics for graduate students and researchers in the foundations and philosophy of physics.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eMeir Hemmo (Author), Orly R. Shenker (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781107424326, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 17 July 2014\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e340 pages, 105 b\/w illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'The Road to Maxwell's Demon is an exceptionally clear and readable book, intended for readers without physics or philosophy backgrounds. It is also a highly original and important contribution to the foundations of physics. It goes against much of the received wisdom and offers novel solutions to many problems: among them, discussions of time asymmetry in classical mechanics, an empiricist alternative to typicality, a criticism of the role of ergodicity, the notion of a physical observer and the irrelevance of information theory to the foundations of statistical mechanics. Readers interested in the foundations of physics will welcome such a fresh outlook on these topics.' Amit Hagar, Metascience\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eTime asymmetric phenomena are successfully predicted by statistical mechanics. Yet the foundations of this theory are surprisingly shaky. Its explanation for the ease of mixing milk with coffee is incomplete, and even implies that un-mixing them should be just as easy. In this book the authors develop a new conceptual foundation for statistical mechanics that addresses this difficulty. Explaining the notions of macrostates, probability, measurement, memory, and the arrow of time in statistical mechanics, they reach the startling conclusion that Maxwell's Demon, the famous perpetuum mobile, is consistent with the fundamental physical laws. Mathematical treatments are avoided where possible, and instead the authors use novel diagrams to illustrate the text. This is a fascinating book for graduate students and researchers interested in the foundations and philosophy of physics.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003e 1. Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 2. Thermodynamics\u003cbr\u003e 3. Classical mechanics\u003cbr\u003e 4. Time\u003cbr\u003e 5. Macrostates\u003cbr\u003e 6. Probability\u003cbr\u003e 7. Entropy\u003cbr\u003e 8. Typicality\u003cbr\u003e 9. Measurement\u003cbr\u003e 10. The past\u003cbr\u003e 11. Gibbs\u003cbr\u003e 12. Erasure\u003cbr\u003e 13. Maxwell's Demon\u003cbr\u003e Appendixes\u003cbr\u003e References\u003cbr\u003e Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Statistical physics [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Statistical physics\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Statistical%20physics%20%5BPHS%5D%22\"\u003ePHS\u003c\/a\u003e], History of science [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of science\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20science%20%5BPDX%5D%22\"\u003ePDX\u003c\/a\u003e], Philosophy of science [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Philosophy of science\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Philosophy%20of%20science%20%5BPDA%5D%22\"\u003ePDA\u003c\/a\u003e], Science: general issues [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Science: general issues\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Science:%20general%20issues%20%5BPD%5D%22\"\u003ePD\u003c\/a\u003e], Mathematics \u0026amp; science [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Mathematics \u0026amp; science\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Mathematics%20\u0026amp;%20science%20%5BP%5D%22\"\u003eP\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46265709166872,"sku":"9781107424326","price":40.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9781107424326i.jpg?v=1694486096","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-road-to-maxwells-demon-conceptual-foundations-of-statistical-mechanics-paperback-9781107424326","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}