States of matter
by David L. Goodstein · first published 1975
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…information theory than I would have expected going in, but in retrospect should have been obvious. Unrelated: my favorite bit from any physics book is probably still the introduction of the first chapter of "States of Matter" by David Goodstein: "Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is…
on “What Is Entropy?” ↗I have to take this opportunity to recite the opening passage of the introduction to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics in David L. Goodstein’s «States of Matter» from 1985: “Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn…
on “Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics” ↗That's from Goodstein's "States of Matter" [1]. The next paragraph starts "Perhaps it will be wise to approach the subject cautiously". That appears to be sufficient to allow non-fatal studying of statistical mechanics. Goodstein wrote that…
on “What Is a Particle? (2020)” ↗The opening paragraph of Goodstein's "States of Matter": "Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study…
on “Resistor Noise Can Be Deafening, and Hard to Reduce (2007)” ↗…shot. I would embark on a census of all the geniuses who did not go insane, but this post is too short to contain it. I will, however, not miss the opportunity to re-quote the first line of Goodstein's States of Matter, IMHO the most hilarious line in physics-education history: Ludwig Boltzmann, who spend much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906 by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on his…
on “Dangerous Knowledge - Four brilliant mathematicians whose genius tragically drove them insane” ↗…spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics. - "States of Matter", David L. Goodstein, https://archive.org/details/statesofmatter0000good_e2n5/page...
on “Physicists Solve a Muon Mystery. Now, Old Results Don't Add Up” ↗States of Matter (1975) by David L. Goodstein, for anyone wondering.
on “What makes a great opening line?” ↗While we're on the subject of classic physics jokes, I give you the subtle opening of David Goodstein's States of Matter: Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study…
on “Ask HN: What's the geekiest joke you know?” ↗…life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics.” David L. Goodstein, States of Matter
on “Probability (1963)” ↗…life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics." - David Goodstein's States of Matter, Introduction
on “Free Textbook on Engineering Thermodynamics” ↗Not quite an abstract, but most memorable: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/meta.12599 There's also the infamous opening paragraph to the "States of Matter" textbook by David L. Goodstein: Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933.…
on “Ask HN: Any nerds out there who've read a lot of research papers?” ↗