Thermodynamics of Materials

by David V. Ragone

Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 0471308854

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Book Reviews

About the Book Thermodynamics of Materials, Volumes I & II goes beyond traditional texts to illustrate the applicability of thermodynamics to the specific classes of materials that are part of a curriculum in materials science and engineering. The text is written from both science and engineering perspectives so that students will be able to understand and apply the knowledge generated by scientists and communicate with and serve the needs of all engineers. In addition to a presentation based on classical thermodynamics, the text:

• Takes an Open System approach to the First and Second Laws.
• Includes a chapter on Statistical Thermodynamics that provides the background for understanding kinetic mechanisms and the behavior of polymers.
• Treats physical as well as chemical equilibrium to assist student understanding of phase transitions.
• Provides good problem sets that are thoroughly class-tested.
• Discusses surfaces and interfaces - an important area as electronic materials get smaller.

About the Author

About the Author David V. Ragone received his S. B., S. M., and Sc.D. degrees in metallurgical engineering from MIT. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses in thermodynamics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1953 to 1962. From 1962 to 1967, as chairman of the materials department and assistant director of the Hopkins laboratory at the General Atomic Division of General Dynamics, he directed research on materials for advanced, high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactors.

Customer Reviews

This is a well written book covering topics of relevance to materials. Explanations are concise and so are more digestible for graduate students. The author has taken special care to use clear and definitive notation. There are a few errors - in particular the Ellingham diagram is wrong - the temperature scale should be oC, not K. However, there are fewer errors than many texts I have seen. Each chapter has a good number of nice problems.

This is a great book for undergraduate (and probably graduate) students. Everything is written in simple terms and complex notations are avoided. It is better to use it as a textbook with one or two other books as reference texts.

The greatest downside is that it does not provide answers to the end-of-chapter problems. So no matter how much you think you are right you can never be too sure. This is a great hindrance in the development of the concepts. This book is written at MIT probably for MIT people but there are few people living outside the MIT campus who would also like to understand the subject. So for those poor schmucks Prof. Ragone should write a solution manual or at least provide us with the answers. Examples are also few and far between.

This can be the greatest textbook on thermodynamics if above suggestions are incorporated.