<b>The Manchester Physics Serie</b>s General Editors: D. J. Sandiford; F. Mandl; A. C. Phillips Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester Properties of Matter B. H. Flowers and E. Mendoza <i>Optics</i> Second Edition F. G. Smith and J. H. Thomson <i>Statistical Physics</i> Second Edition E. Mandl <i>Electromagnetism</i> Second Edition I. S. Grant and W. R. Phillips <i>Statistics</i> R. J. Barlow <i>Solid State Physics</i> Second Edition J. R. Hook and H. E. Hall <i>Quantum Mechanics</i> F. Mandl <i>Particle Physics</i> Second Edition B. R. Martin and G. Shaw <i>The Physics of Stars</i> Second Edition A. C. Phillips Computing for Scientists R. J. Barlow and A. R. Barnett<br/><br/><i><b> Statistical Physics</b></i>, Second Edition develops a unified treatment of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, which emphasises the statistical nature of the laws of thermodynamics and the atomic nature of matter. Prominence is given to the Gibbs distribution, leading to a si