The application of statistical methods to physics is essential. This unique book on statistical physics offers an advanced approach with numerous applications to the modern problems students are confronted with. Therefore the text contains more concepts and methods in statistics than the student would need for statistical mechanics alone. Methods from mathematical statistics and stochastics for the analysis of data are discussed as well.

The book is divided into two parts, focusing first on the modeling of statistical systems and then on the analysis of these systems. Problems with hints for solution help the students to deepen their knowledge. The third edition has been updated and enlarged with new sections deepening the knowledge about data analysis. Moreover, a customized set of problems with solutions is accessible on the Web at extras.springer.com."

This introduction to classical theoretical physics emerged from a course for students in the third and fourth semester, which the authors have given several times at the University of Freiburg (Germany). The goal of the course is to give the student a comprehensive and coherent overview of the principal areas of classical theoretical physics. In line with this goal, the content, the terminology, and the mathematical techniques of theoret ical physics are all presented along with applications, to serve as a solid foundation for further courses in the basic areas of experimental and theoretical physics. In conceiving the course, the authors had four interdependent goals in mind: * the presentation of a consistent overview, even at this elementary level * the establishment of a well-balanced interactive relationship between phys ical content and mathematical methods * a demonstration of the important applications of physics, and * an acquisition of the most important mathematical techniques needed to solve specific problems. In relation to the first point, it was necessary to limit the amount of material treated. This introductory course was not intended to preempt a later, primarily On the other hand, we aimed for a certain completeness in theoretical, course.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part looks at the modeling of statistical systems before moving on to an analysis of these systems. This second edition contains new material on: estimators based on a probability distribution for the parameters; identification of stochastic models from observations; and statistical tests and classification methods.

The application of statistical methods to physics is essential. This unique book on statistical physics offers an advanced approach with numerous applications to the modern problems students are confronted with. Therefore the text contains more concepts and methods in statistics than the student would need for statistical mechanics alone. Methods from mathematical statistics and stochastics for the analysis of data are discussed as well. The book is divided into two parts, focusing first on the modeling of statistical systems and then on the analysis of these systems. Problems with hints for solution help the students to deepen their knowledge. The third edition has been updated and enlarged with new sections deepening the knowledge about data analysis. Moreover, a customized set of problems with solutions is accessible on the Web at extras.springer.com.

Vorwort.-1 Prolog.Brief vom 3.7.2007.Brief vom 17.7.2007.-2 Die Bewegung.-2.1 Das erste physikalische Gesetz in mathematischer Form und die geradlinig-gleichfoermige Bewegung.-2.2 Das Tragheitsgesetz und ideale Bezugssysteme.-2.3 Das Galileische Relativitatsprinzip.-2.4 Krafte und das Gravitationsgesetz.-2.5 Bewegungsanderungen und ihre Ursache.Brief vom 4.9.2007.-2.6 Die Newtonsche Bewegungsgleichung.-2.7 Nachfolger Newtons, Bewegungen starrer Koerper.-2.8 Eingeschrankte Bewegungen.-2.9 Das Hamiltonsche Prinzip.-2.10 Bewegungen in Nicht-Inertialsystemen.-3 Von Blitzen, Feldern und Wellen.Brief vom 9.10.2007.-3.1 Die Elektrisierer.-3.2 Elektrostatik.-3.3 Konstante Stroeme.-3.4 Die magnetische Wirkung des elektrischen Stroms.-3.5 Erste technische Verwertungen, Telegraf und Elektromotor.-3.6 Das Induktionsgesetz.-3.7 Die Maxwellsche Theorie des Elektromagnetismus.-3.8 Die Entdeckung der elektromagnetischen Wellen.-3.9 Theorien uber das Licht.-3.10 Wellen.-4 Thermodynamik und Statistische Mechanik.Brief vom 8.1.2008.-4.1 Was ist Warme.-4.2 Energie.-4.3 Entropie.-4.4 Thermodynamische Kreisprozesse, Kuhlschrank und Warmepumpe.-4.5 Verhalten von Gasen und Flussigkeiten.-4.6 Mischungen und Zweiphasensysteme.-4.7 Statistische Mechanik.-5 Die Relativitatstheorien.Brief vom 2.4.2008.-5.1 Die Konstanz der Lichtgeschwindigkeit.-5.2 Raum und Zeit: Der Begriff der Gleichzeitigkeit.-.-5.3 Raum und Zeit: Zeitdehnung und Langenkontraktion.-5.4 Raum und Zeit: Das Zwillingsparadoxon.-5.5 Die Masse eines Koerpers als Mass fur dessen Energieinhalt.-5.6 Grundlagen der Allgemeinen Relativitatstheorie: Das AEquivalenzprinzip.-5.7 Folgerungen aus der Allgemeinen Relativitatstheorie.-6 Quanten.Brief vom 8.7.2008.-6.1 Kathoden- und Roentgenstrahlen.-6.2 Radioaktivitat.-6.3 Warmestrahlen.-6.4 Lichtquanten.-6.5Das Bohrsche Atommodell.-6.6 Atombau und Spektrallinien.-6.7 Das Pauli-Prinzip.-6.8 Die Geburt der Quantenmechanik.-6.9 Die Unbestimmtheitsrelation.-6.10 Schroedingers Katze.-6.11 Das Gedankenexperiment von Einstein, Podolski und Rosen.-6.12 Die Bellschen Ungleichungen.-6.13 Quanteninformatik.-7 Epilog.Brief vom 11.2.2009.-Literatur.-Index

Die Quantenmechanik ist eine physikalische Theorie fur Objekte des Mikrokosmos, also z.B. fur Atome oder Elektronen. Sie hat sich bisher bestens bewahrt, fuhrt aber dazu, dass wir diesen Objekten Eigenschaften und Relationen zubilligen mussen, die weder mit unserem gesunden Menschenverstand noch mit den Begriffen der klassischen Physik vereinbar sind. Diese Merkwurdigkeiten werden vorgestellt und ihre Bedeutung fur unser Erkenntnisvermoegen und fur ein Weltbild wird diskutiert.