Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
This book presents the fundamental principles of classical thermodynamics and their ramifications, and explores their applications to a wide variety of problems in the Earth and Planetary sciences spanning the range from the Earth's core, mantle and crust, aqueous solutions, fluid-rock interactions to solar nebula, terrestrial planets and asteroids. Both geochemical and geophysical aspects of thermodynamics have been integrated within a general framework. The topics covered include the laws of classical thermodynamics and some of their microscopic basis, critical phenomenon and near-critical processes, equations of states, phase transitions and phase equilibria, pressure effect on melting, Earth's interior and adiabatic processes, thermodynamics of solutions, element fractionation, planetary magma oceans, electrolyte solutions, surface effects, properties of very small and nanoparticles, entropy production and kinetic implications, and estimation of thermochemical properties of solids. There is also a review of mathematical methods of classical thermodynamics. Many solved problems have been included to illustrate how thermodynamic analyses lead to quantitative understanding of natural systems.Synopsis
This book provides exposition of a large spectrum of geological, geochemical and geophysical problems that are amenable to thermodynamic analysis. It also includes selected problems in planetary sciences, relationships between thermodynamics and microscopic properties, particle size effects, methods of approximation of thermodynamic properties of minerals, and some kinetic ramifications of entropy production. Many of these features are frequently missing in textbooks, but are very important with respect to problems in Earth and Planetary Sciences. The textbook will enable graduate students and researchers alike to develop an appreciation of the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, and their wide ranging applications to natural processes and systems.