Statistical thermodynamics concepts

Our foremost goal here is to establish enough notation and a few pivotal relations that the following portions of the book can be understood straightforwardly. The following sections identify some basic thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics concepts that will be used later. Many textbooks on thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are available to treat the basic results of this chapter in more detail students particularly interested in solutions might consult Rowlinson and Swinton (1982). 

Calculating Concentration of Viable Nuclei (n ) Now that we have determined the activation energy for nucleation, it is possible, using statistical thermodynamics concepts, to calculate the concentration of viable nuclei ( ) that will form at a given temperature T. As with other activated processes, the probability that a viable nucleus can form is exponentially temperature dependent ... 

It is not particularly difficult to introduce thermodynamic concepts into a discussion of elasticity. We shall not explore all of the implications of this development, but shall proceed only to the point of establishing the connection between elasticity and entropy. Then we shall go from phenomenological thermodynamics to statistical thermodynamics in pursuit of a molecular model to describe the elastic response of cross-linked networks. 

It is not the purpose of chemistry, but rather of statistical thermodynamics, to formulate a theory of the structure of water. Such a theory should be able to calculate the properties of water, especially with regard to their dependence on temperature. So far, no theory has been formulated whose equations do not contain adjustable parameters (up to eight in some theories). These include continuum and mixture theories. The continuum theory is based on the concept of a continuous change of the parameters of the water molecule with temperature. Recently, however, theories based on a model of a mixture have become more popular. It is assumed that liquid water is a mixture of structurally different species with various densities. With increasing temperature, there is a decrease in the number of low-density species, compensated by the usual thermal expansion of liquids, leading to the formation of the well-known maximum on the temperature dependence of the density of water (0.999973 g cm-3 at 3.98°C). 

The chapter starts with a brief review of thermodynamic principles as they apply to the concept of the chemical equilibrium. That section is followed by a short review of the use of statistical thermodynamics for the numerical calculation of thermodynamic equilibrium constants in terms of the chemical potential (often designated as (i). Lastly, this statistical mechanical development is applied to the calculation of isotope effects on equilibrium constants, and then extended to treat kinetic isotope effects using the transition state model. These applications will concentrate on equilibrium constants in the ideal gas phase with the molecules considered in the rigid rotor, harmonic oscillator approximation. 

Statistical thermodynamic mean-field theory of polymer solutions, first formulated independently by Flory, Huggins, and Staverman, in which the thermodynamic quantities of the solution are derived from a simple concept of combinatorial entropy of mixing and a reduced Gibbs-energy parameter, the X interaction parameter. 

Recently there has emerged the beginning of a direct, operational link between quantum chemistry and statistical thermodynamic. The link is obtained by the ability to write E = V Vij—namely, to write the output of quantum-mechanical computations as the standard input for statistical computations, It seems very important that an operational link be found in order to connect the discrete description of matter (X-ray, nmr, quantum theory) with the continuous description of matter (boundary conditions, diffusion). The link, be it a transformation (probably not unitary) or other technique, should be such that the nonequilibrium concepts, the dissipative structure concepts, can be used not only as a language for everyday biologist, but also as a tool of quantitation value, with a direct, quantitative and operational link to the discrete description of matter. 

Transport properties are often given a short treatment or a treatment too theoretical to be very relevant. The notion that molecules move when driven by some type of concentration gradient is a practical and easily grasped approach. The mathematics can be minimized. Perhaps the most important feature of the kinetic theory of gases is the recognition that macroscopic properties such as pressure and temperature can be derived by suitable averages of the properties of individual molecules. This concept is an important precursor to statistical thermodynamics. Moreover, the notion of a distribution function as a general... 

Next, we review findings of educational research about the main areas of physical chemistry. Most of the work done was in the areas of basic thermodynamics and electrochemistry, and some work on quantum chemistry. Other areas, such as chemical kinetics, statistical thermodynamics, and spectroscopy, have not so far received attention (although the statistical interpretation of entropy is treated in studies on the concepts of thermodynamics). Because many of the basics of physical chemistry are included in first-year general and inorganic courses (and some even in senior high school), many of the investigations have been carried out at these levels. 

Elementary and advanced treatments of such cellular functions are available in specialized monographs and textbooks (Bergethon and Simons 1990 Levitan and Kaczmarek 1991 Nossal and Lecar 1991). One of our objectives in this chapter is to develop the concepts necessary for understanding the Donnan equilibrium and osmotic pressure effects. We define osmotic pressures of charged and uncharged solutes, develop the classical and statistical thermodynamic principles needed to quantify them, discuss some quantitative details of the Donnan equilibrium, and outline some applications. 

In Section 3.4a we examine a model for the second virial coefficient that is based on the concept of the excluded volume of the solute particles. A solute-solute interaction arising from the spatial extension of particles is the premise of this model. Therefore the potential exists for learning something about this extension (i.e., particle dimension) for systems for which the model is applicable. In Section 3.4b we consider a model that considers the second virial coefficient in terms of solute-solvent interaction. This approach offers a quantitative measure of such interactions through B. In both instances we only outline the pertinent statistical thermodynamics a somewhat fuller development of these ideas is given in Flory (1953). Finally, we should note that some of the ideas of this section are going to reappear in Chapter 13 in our discussions of polymer-induced forces in colloidal dispersions and of coagulation or steric stabilization (Sections 13.6 and 13.7). 

Chapter 1 deals with classical non-stoichiometric compounds. By classical, the author means that the basic concept of the phase stability has been well established from a thermodynamical point of view, and does not mean that research in this field has been fully completed. In these compounds the origin of non-stoichiometry is point defects . In the first half of the chapter, the fundamental relation between point defects and non-stoichiometry is described in detail, based on (statistical) thermodynamics, and in the second half various examples, referred to the original papers, are shown. 

The goal here is to provide a systematic, if streamlined, derivation of the quantities of interest using statistical thermodynamics. These concepts are outside the range of topics usually considered in mechanical engineering or chemical engineering treatments of fluid flow. However, the results are essential for understanding and estimating the thermodynamic properties that are needed. 

Kinetics is a macroscopic theory. Dynamics is particle physics. Statistical theory relates both fields and goes beyond statistical thermodynamics. It is not the aim of this book to enter the Field of statistical theory. However, a number of its concepts are needed for a correct understanding of kinetic parameters and for constructing appropriate models. In this sense, the following sections will be presented. 

The further development of the concept of microporous material formation should be based on the combination of fractal, nonequilibrium statistical thermodynamics and polymer science methods. 

The functional relation for EhA was derived by Planck by introducing the quantum concept for electromagnetic energy. The derivation is now usually performed by methods of statistical thermodynamics, and Ebx is shown to be related to the energy density of Eq. (8-2) by... 

This chapter has introduced foundational concepts of statistical thermodynamics and physical chemistry for analysis of systems involving chemical reactions, molecular transitions, and material transport. A few simple examples of applications of thermodynamic concepts to biological systems were illustrated in Section 1.7. The remainder of this book focuses on applications to the analysis of biological systems. 

---