This book, provides a general introduction to the ideas and methods of statistical mechanics with the principal aim of meeting the needs of Master¿s students in chemical, mechanical, and materials science engineering. Extensive introductory information is presented on many general physics topics in which students in engineering are inadequately trained, ranging from the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics to basic quantum mechanics, electromagnetic fields in matter, intermolecular forces, and transport phenomena. Since engineers should be able to apply physical concepts, the book also focuses on the practical applications of statistical physics to material science and to cutting-edge technologies, with brief but informative sections on, for example, interfacial properties, disperse systems, nucleation, magnetic materials, superfluidity, and ultralow temperature technologies. The book adopts a graded approach to learning, the opening four basic-level chapters being followed by advanced ¿starred¿ sections in which special topics are discussed. Its relatively informal style, including the use of musical metaphors to guide the reader through the text, will aid self-learning.

1 Playing by ear .- 2 The stave and the treble clef.- 3 Easy rhythms and melodies.- 4 Fluid chords.- 5 Scales in crescendo.- 6 Indistinguishable harmonies.- A Mathematical notes.- B Statistical entropy.- C The Boltzmann equation.- D Brownian motion and diffusion processes.

Roberto Piazza has been Full Professor in Condensed Matter Physics at the Politecnico di Milano since 2005 and has also been invited professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon (2011), Leverhulme professor in Cambridge (2013), and Debye professor at Utrecht University (2015). He obtained a Master's degree in Physics from the University of Milan and a PhD in Quantum Electronics from the University of Pavia, with V. Degiorgio as advisor. After having worked with W. Goldburg at the University of Pittsburgh, he became first a lecturer in Pavia and then Reader at the Politecnico di Milano. He is currently section editor of the Journal of Physics Condensed Matter for liquids, soft matter, and biological physics, and a member of the European Space Sciences Committee of the European Science Foundation (ESF). His research activity, mostly devoted to the experimental study of soft matter and complex fluids, has covered topics ranging from colloidal suspensions to surfactant and protein solutions. The results of these studies have been the subject of about 100 papers published in international peer-reviewed journals. He is also author of the popular book Soft Matter, published by Springer in Italian, English, and Chinese.