Physics – History and Philosophy of Physics
Scientific paper
1998-03-04
Physics
History and Philosophy of Physics
12 pages, Latex
Scientific paper
This paper gives a short review of the history of statistical physics starting from D. Bernoulli's kinetic theory of gases in the 18th century until the recent new developments in nonequilibrium kinetic theory in the last decades of this century. The most important contributions of the great physicists Clausius, Maxwell and Boltzmann are sketched. It is shown how the reversibility and the recurrence paradox are resolved within Boltzmann's statistical interpretation of the second law of thermodynamics. An approach to classical and quantum statistical mechanics is outlined. Finally the progress in nonequilibrium kinetic theory in the second half of this century is sketched starting from the work of N.N. Bogolyubov in 1946 up to the progress made recently in understanding the diffusion processes in dense fluids using computer simulations and analytical methods.
No associations
LandOfFree
History and outlook of statistical physics does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with History and outlook of statistical physics, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and History and outlook of statistical physics will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-22718