The Physics of Phase Transitions: Concepts and Applications

The physics of phase transitions is an important area at the crossroads of several fields that play central roles in materials sciences. In this second edition, new developments had been included which came up in the states of matter physics, in particular in the domain of nanomaterials and atomic Bose-Einstein condensates where progress is accelerating. The presentation of several chapters had been improved by bringing better information on some phase transition mechanisms and by illustrating them with new application examples. This work deals with all classes of phase transitions in fluids and solids. It contains chapters on evaporation, melting, solidification, magnetic transitions, critical phenomena, superconductivity, etc., and is intended for graduate students in physics and engineering; for scientists it will serve both as an introduction and an overview. End-of-chapter problems and complete answers are included.