Statistical Mechanics For Beginners: A Textbook For Undergraduates : 9789814299121 : 20 Aug 2010 : This textbook is for undergraduate students on a basic course in Statistical Mechanics. The prerequisite is thermodynamics. It begins with a study of three situations --- the closed system and the systems in thermal contact with a reservoir --- in order to formulate the important fundamentals: entropy from Boltzmann formula, partition function and grand partition function. Through the presentation of quantum statistics, Bose statistics and Fermi-Dirac statistics are established, including as a special case the classical situation of Maxell-Boltzmann statistics. A series of examples ensue it: the harmonic oscillator, the polymer chain, the two level system, bosons (photons, phonons, and the Bose-Einstein condensation) and fermions (electrons in metals and in semiconductors). A compact historical note on influential scientists forms the concluding chapter. The unique presentation starts of