Download an abstract of this volume The Theory of Interacting Systems: Volume 3 EQUILIBRIUM THEORY Reason has moons... Equilibrium thermodynamics, with its two towering laws, was once the queen of the sciences. But as physics moved on, thermodynamics remained rooted in its past -- saddled with an often ugly and inconsistent notation and unresolved paradoxes. As a time-independent theory, it is out of touch with its basis in the underlying particle dynamics and even the concept of equilibrium itself has eluded adequate definition. The equilibrium formalism has obscured the deeper structure of thermodynamics. In a dynamic world constructed out of microscopic particles, equilibrium thermodynamics is properly viewed as a special asymptotic case of a time-dependent macroscopic theory. Its unique features can be used to construct a quantitative explanation of how the microscopic parameters that determine the particle interactions give rise to macroscopic behavior. The result is a computable equilibrium thermodynamics that connects thermodynamic equations of state, surfaces, and phases, to the underlying particle dynamics. © 2001, MicroAnalytix. Book covers, logo, and site design by Strongrrl.