1 comments about Advanced Transport Phenomena: Fluid Mechanics and Convective Transport Processes (Cambridge Series in Chemical Engineering).

1. Leal's book has parts that are very well written and in depth, particularly those of Stoke's flow, creeping flow, and parts of dimensional analysis. However, this is mitigated by how disorganized and bombastic the book is. This book does not make a good reference text as the chapters are hard to read in isolation from the other chapters. For exaxmple, several sections on dimensional analysis refer to previous chapters without explicitly saying where the formulas came from. In addition, there is a great deal of redefining variables which is poorly explained and makes the book very hard to follow. A lot of the notation in this book is also counter to a bulk of notation used in the books available on this topic, especially the vector notation (for example, using "^" to represent the cross product as opposed to "X"). As this book is fairly new, there are several mistakes for which there is no errata to go too. Use this book with a bit of caution; it does a great job of working through the math, but it is not the best book on the market. I would recommend the outstanding texts by Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot and William Deen.

2 comments about Thermal-Fluid Sciences: An Integrated Approach.

1. Stephen Turns should be congratulated for writing this book, it is excellent. Covering everything a mechanical engineer would want to know in the areas of Thermodynamics, and heat transfer this book is well written, has plenty of diagrams, excellent examples, and solutions to its problems.



2. Stephen R. Turns, widely known for making understandable a very difficult field such as combustion without losing rigour midway, attempts to do the same with enginering thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics, all in one.
   
   Nice try. But one wonders about the utility of this book. More than thousand pages, all of them in color, lots of photographs and the latest pedagogical concepts, plus a CD, make it almost a piece of collection for every professor of thermal sciences alive.
   
   But the introduction to advanced topics one was expecting all the way was lacking. Blatantly. Then, what difference does it make with purchasing Incropera's, Moran's and Fox's books out of a sudden?
   
   Well, perhaps price it's only half the answer. I still don't know why. The integrated approach perhaps doesn't complete the other half. Overall: buy it, it will amuse you. And you can give a convincing answer to your relatives when they ask you: hey man, what do you teach at the university?

2 comments about Thermodynamics Problem Solver (Problem Solvers).

1. The book is very good.
   The delivery was very fast in my country (brazil).
   I would like to thank for Amazon.



2. Book has been very helpful. I have been using some of the applications in this book for a Meteorology class. The concepts discussed have been very helful in understanding the concepts for that class. Excellent book with many examples and how-to's.

1 comments about Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics (Schaum's Outline Series).

1. I'm a huge fan of Schaum's -- the low rating is for formatting on the Kindle.
   
   None of the greek letters (density, torque, etc) display in the text, so it is impossible to read the text without already knowing the material.
   Also, the figures are displayed up to 5 pages away from the text to which they pertain -- the speed that you can change pages makes the figures unusable in the context of the text.
   
   Definitely not useful as a sole source of information -- possibly okay for a suppliment.

No comments about Computational Fluid Dynamics: A Practical Approach.

3 comments about Introduction to Physical Gas Dynamics.

1. This book is a classic which covers everything from deriving Maxwell's distribution from first principles to modeling gases in thermal, chemical, and vibrational nonequilibrium. Covers many topic not covered in courses, and can be read cover to cover, unlike many texts. Buy it before it goes out of print again.



2. This book is fairly old and I don't feel that it gives enough example problems.



3. Using it for a course right now. A little technical, but does have a lot of explanations. Highly recommended reference book/textbook.

5 comments about Thermal Physics.

1. Baierlein gives a great introduction to thermal physics. He emphasizes the how and why and writes in english, i.e. this book is not a collection of formulas.

   He does a very good job of explaning statistical mechanics, providing insiteful discussions of the Maxwell-Boltzman, Einstein-Bose, Fermi, and canonical distributions. Great description of the chemical potential. Easy to understand discussion of entropy and multiplicity and also of the partial and exact differentials used in thermal physics.

   IMHO, it is the best introduction to the topic available. A similar book, but not as well written is "Thermal Physics" by Kittel and Kroemer. Of course if you are looking for a reference on Statistical Mechanics, chock full of mathematics, try Reif, Reichl, or Landau.




2. This is by far and away the best book on introductory thermal physics I've read. It is written in plain and clear English and the development of concepts and the required mathematical framework is language-based rather than formula-driven.

   The first three chapters give a beautifully concise overview of the basic concepts of first-year thermodynamics, with a very clear introduction of the concept of entropy. The highlight of the book is perhaps the development of the chemical potential and the Helmholtz and Gibbs free energies.




3. While a nice, non-intimidating introduction to the field with an emphasis on physical insight and "back of the envelope" reasoning, it is NOT suitable as a graduate level text for statistical & thermal physics, contrary to what is stated on the back cover. I would say that if one were to use this and Reif as a combo as an undergraduate, one would get a good picture of the field from both a classic and a well done modern presentation.

   For graduate studies, by all means look elsewhere. McQuarrie, Kubo, Huang (if need be), heck, digging up the Dover reprints by Hill and Wannier wouldn't be such a bad idea, really.




4. This textbook on applied statistical mechanics is intended for use by advanced undergraduates in physics and astronomy. The first five chapters (plus chapter 7) are a gloss of basic thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. The rest of the book applies statistical mechanics to various topics: photons and phonons, fermions and bosons, chemical equilibrium, phase equilbrium, etc.
   
   The book presumes a familiarity with thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics. Because the author presumes a familiarity with many of the concepts that he considers, he sometimes introduces terms and even variables without defining them. What's more objectionable is that throughout the book the author reasons by "handwaving" arguments instead of rigorous logic; that is, he argues that his results are plausible but he doesn't prove them. Although the book is intended for astronomy majors, there is almost no mention of astronomical topics in either the text or the problems. Furthermore, some chapters offer few references for further study. There are better texts on statistical mechanics.



5. This book was very clear and concisely written. It made my understanding of Thermodynamics greater in depth, than any other resource I have used in the pass.

5 comments about Schaum's Outline of Physical Chemistry (2nd Edition).

1. The over-five hundred pages that make-up this "Schaum's Outline of Physical Chemistry" were dedicated to giving overview of every aspect of the subject. The book's presentations and analyses are easy-to-follow; and would be appreciated by any Physical Science undergrad.
   I valued its exploits in the fields of: Thermodynamics, Equilibrium Properties, Chemical Kinetics, and Intermolecular Forces. Its information are concise; yet, detailed enough. There are both tutorials and worked examples in every chapter: hence, making it a fine revision tool.
   However, bear in mind that the contents of this book are more or less obsolete. The fact that it has not been revised since 1988 is discouraging. In view of this, I am reluctant to recommend it!



2. The examples are from a different planet! The text is very general in the important concepts and too detailed in the obscure stuff; this is definintley not intended for someone new to PCHEM. Stick to you textbook, like Atkins, which probably has better explanations and problems.



3. For as cheap as it is, this is a great value. It reviews every concept in physical chemistry very well. Obviously it won't replace your textbook, but it will at least cover subjects that maybe your textbook omits. The outline was last updated in 1989, but, honestly, physical chemistry has not changed in at least the last twenty or thirty years. Conceptually, all of physical chemistry has remained the same, so I would not say that this book is obsolete.



4. I bought this book because I had a deficiency in physical chemistry owing to a bad teacher at my undergraduate study i chemistry. This book although cheap is garbage and is not useful at all. so do not buy it. If you are outside the USA don't buy books published in america because mostly they are for commercial purpose and not intended to teach you.



5. I have found the book to be fairly helpful. This book covers a lot of things not covered in class and I feel it depends on the course and who and how they are teaching it will be a factor in whether the book is helpful.

4 comments about Engineering Fundamentals of the Internal Combustion Engine (2nd Edition).

1. It's perfect for undergraduate one semester course on internal combustion engines. Theory is straightforward and just adequate - no excess and no scarce. Examples are on modern updated engines, what catches students interest.



2. I took the initiative to buy a book on IC engines to teach myself the fundamentals of how they work. This book explains all of the basic principles involved. The author's writing style is down to earth and remains on an undergraduate level. The book is filled with diagrams for the reader to visualize what is being said. The examples solved in the chapters are helpful in solving most of the problems at the end of each chatper. I haven't read any other books on IC fundamentals so I can't make a comparison, but I don't have any complaints about Mr. Pulkrabek's work.



3. I used this book for my undergraduate IC engines course. It is well written, well put together, and concise. That being said Pulkrabek leaves out a lot when it comes to the actual calculations. This would be good for getting a general knowledge of IC engine cycles but for more advanced study Heywood's text is much more comprehensive. I used Heywood's text for my master's thesis.



4. "FEATURES OF THE BOOK INCLUDE:
   
   * Photographs, line drawings, and cycle diagrams of many different types and sizes of engines.
   
   * Many worked example problems to emphasize important concepts.
   
   * Review problems at the end ot each chapter including open-ended design problems.
   
   * Numerical answers to selected review problems.
   
   * Use of both SI and English units.
   
   * Hostorical notes.
   
   * Conversion factors for common engine parameters.
   
   * Tables of fuel properties, air properties, chemical parameters, and text notation.
   
   * Reference listing."
   [from the back cover of book]

No comments about Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer + EES Software.