APS » PROLA » Rev. Mod. Phys. » Volume 71 » Issue 2

Rev. Mod. Phys. 71, S346 - S357 (1999)

Statistical mechanics: A selective review of two central issues

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Joel L. Lebowitz
Departments of Mathematics and Physics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8019

I give a highly selective overview of the way statistical mechanics explains the microscopic origins of the time-asymmetric evolution of macroscopic systems towards equilibrium and of first-order phase transitions in equilibrium. These phenomena are emergent collective properties not discernible in the behavior of individual atoms. They are given precise and elegant mathematical formulations when the ratio between macroscopic and microscopic scales becomes very large.


©1999 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/RMP/v71/pS346
DOI: 10.1103/RevModPhys.71.S346
PACS: 05.20.-y, 05.70.Fh, 05.20.-y, 05.70.Fh

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