Gerhard Ernst & Andreas Hüttemann (eds.)
Cambridge University Press (2010)
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Abstract |
Statistical mechanics attempts to explain the behaviour of macroscopic physical systems in terms of the mechanical properties of their constituents. Although it is one of the fundamental theories of physics, it has received little attention from philosophers of science. Nevertheless, it raises philosophical questions of fundamental importance on the nature of time, chance and reduction. Most philosophical issues in this domain relate to the question of the reduction of thermodynamics to statistical mechanics. This book addresses issues inherent in this reduction: the time-asymmetry of thermodynamics and its absence in statistical mechanics; the role and essential nature of chance and probability in this reduction when thermodynamics is non-probabilistic; and how, if at all, the reduction is possible. Compiling contributions on current research by experts in the field, this is an invaluable survey of the philosophy of statistical mechanics for academic researchers and graduate students interested in the foundations of physics.
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Keywords | Statistical mechanics Statistical mechanics Philosophy |
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Buy this book | $103.00 new Amazon page |
Call number | QC174.84.T56 2010 |
ISBN(s) | 0521884012 9780521884013 |
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Citations of this work BETA
Entropy - A Guide for the Perplexed.Roman Frigg & Charlotte Werndl - 2011 - In Claus Beisbart & Stephan Hartmann (eds.), Probabilities in Physics. Oxford University Press. pp. 115-142.
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On the Carroll-Chen Model (Long Unpublished Version on Arxiv).Christopher Gregory Weaver - manuscript
It's About Time: Dynamics of Inflationary Cosmology as the Source of the Asymmetry of Time.Emre Keskin - 2014 - Dissertation, University of South Florida
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