preferred media sources, and they givedetailed instructions on how to attainthat end and thereby influence publicdiscourse on controversial topics with ascience context. If you want to put in yourtwo cents on nuclear power, stem-cell re-search, directed-energy weapons, or thecreation of new life forms in the labora-tory, and if you have the necessary ex-pertise to do so, this book is for you.
But even if you prefer to remainsafely cloistered in the peaceful halls ofacademia, you may nevertheless benefitfrom what Hayes and Grossman have tosay. In my experience, much of the waythe media operate is counterintuitive tophysicists. When 95% of experts in afield agree on a topic, reporters willquote one or more of them, but may alsoinclude remarks by someone whosework is not taken seriously by fellowprofessionals but who is chosen becausehe or she disputes the majority position.To some journalists, that approach pro-vides needed “balance.” Usually whena reporter calls a scientist to ask a ques-tion, the journalist actually wants toknow the answer. Yet it’s also commonfor a reporter to know what answer heor she wishes to quote and call a scien-tist who is likely to take that position.
The book also discusses the art of writ-ing good press releases. A scientist whowrites an article begins by introducingthe subject of the research and may makethe error of following that practice indrafting a press release about the results.A communications professional knowsthat a press release must begin with the
bottom line: What was discovered? Thecontext then follows. Hayes and Gross-man even advise scientists to speak inclichés during certain media interactions.It’s contrary to what we were taught inschool, but the approach is sometimes ap-propriate, as the authors cogently ex-plain. All of these “crazy” practices, asphysicists might say, are in accord withthe rules of journalism.
All kinds of journalists work in dif-ferent ways, and it helps to know thedifferences, too. Talking “on back-ground” implies various rules on howreporters use the information, depend-ing on their affiliations. A local televi-sion news correspondent arrives at youroffice, records a quick stand-up inter-view, and is gone in 15 minutes. The re-sulting sound bite of your commentswill last about 20 seconds on the nightlynews. Another reporter may spend aday with you and write a feature article.
Hayes and Grossman note that manyresearchers are critical of the daily press:Scientists don’t like the selection of sci-ence topics, the singling out of a few sci-entists for comment, the omission ofprior research, and the loose way inwhich the carefully nuanced conclusionsof a research paper are expanded to
broad, new contexts. Many researchersthink that scientific significance should
be the prime criterion for featuring a re-search result in the mass media, and theydon’t understand why it emphatically isnot. But such critics should realize thatwhen it comes to newspapers, “if therewere a paper written the way they wouldlike it, nobody would read it,” accordingto a British scientist quoted in Hayes andGrossman’s book. If researchers read AScientist’s Guide to Talking with the Media ,it will help them to understand.
Stephen P. MaranChevy Chase, Maryland
Concepts inThermal Physics
Stephen J. Blundell andKatherine M. BlundellOxford U. Press, New York, 2006.$85.00, $45.00 paper (464 pp.).ISBN 978-0-19-856769-1,ISBN 978-0-19-856770-7 paper
Students’ first exposure to statisticalmechanics and thermodynamics is al-
ways tricky. Themathematical ma-chinery is quitesimple, but the con-cepts are somewhatoutside the frame-work set up in otherphysics courses.Moreover, with somany results de-rived from so few assumptions, it is im-portant that the presentation be clearand logical. Concepts in Thermal Physics
by Stephen J. Blundell and Katherine M.Blundell fulfills that need admirably,and their textbook will be very usefulfor an undergraduate course in thermo-dynamics and statistical mechanics.
The authors, who teach in thephysics department at Oxford Univer-sity, first cover basic statistical ideas,then discuss thermodynamics beforereturning to statistical mechanics. Theapproach is a good choice: Thermody-namics can—with a few experimentalinputs—be applied in a broad range ofdisciplines to complex systems forwhich statistical analyses would beimpractical. It is important for physicsinstructors to not lose sight of that gen-erality. To treat thermodynamics asmerely an application of statistical me-chanics is analogous to treating elastic-ity theory as just an application ofatomic interactions. However, thosewho favor beginning with statisticalmechanics first, as it is more funda-mental and therefore easier to under-stand, may prefer the second edition ofThermal Physics by Charles Kittel andHerbert Kroemer (W. H. Freeman,1980).
I also like the fact that the first phys-ical system discussed in the text is a gasrather than a spin chain—the former isassociated more with everyday experi-ence. Although the calculations for aspin system are simpler, the treatmentof gases is also easy to understand. Ona related note, several figures in the
See www.pt.ims.ca/12311-33
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book contain actual experimental data,which are welcome because they makethe discussions more relevant. Somefigures that seem to include experimen-tal data do not have any references (forexample, 9.12). Such omissions should
be corrected.The 37 chapters are short, and each
covers a single concept. In general, Ifound the presentation remarkablyclear. But there are exceptions: Thediscussion of magnetic systems—including the change from B dm to m dB(in which m is the magnetic momentand B is the magnetic field)—is far tooshort, as is the coverage of how molec-ular degrees of freedom freeze out. I donot think the chapter on informationtheory will be useful to readers who donot already know the material. Thechapter on photons is unnecessary be-cause all the results can be obtainedmore efficiently through statistical me-chanics rather than through classicalthermodynamics, as the authors revealin a subsequent chapter. And the char-acterization of heat as “energy in tran-sit” is quite misleading.
Of more serious concern is the chap-ter on phase transitions, which is ex-tremely outdated. With a numericaltreatment of simple examples, such aspercolation and the Ising model in twodimensions, it should be possible for atextbook to explain the fundamental con-cept that a phase transition is a qualita-tive change that is apparent only at themacroscopic level. It should also be pos-sible to introduce the basic idea ofscaling at second-order phase transi-tions and provide a short discussion ofMonte Carlo simulations. Unfortunately,the Blundells’ coverage falls short; thus,instructors will have to provide supple-mental material on the topic.
The section on kinetic theory is in-terposed before the treatment of ther-modynamics. The authors point outthat teaching the section is optional andcan be delayed or omitted. Apart fromthe section’s first two chapters, theirsuggestion is useful, particularly if the
book is used in a one-term course. Butin any case, it would be helpful if the
book were to clearly explain where inthe section the ideal-gas approximationis made. For instance, I could not findany discussion of why the treatment ofpressure in chapter 6 is only valid forideal gases, which is not the case for theMaxwell–Boltzmann distribution asdescribed in chapter 5.
Although the problems at the end ofeach chapter are well chosen, it wouldhelp if more were included, especiallyproblems that apply the concepts todifferent disciplines. The chapters on
special topics that discuss applicationsare nice, but unfortunately they willlikely be dropped in a one-term course.Overall, Concepts in Thermal Physics pro-vides an excellent introduction to ther-modynamics and statistical mechanics.It deserves serious consideration as atextbook for any undergraduate courseon those topics. And the fact that a rea-sonably priced paperback edition isalso available will be welcome news forstudents.
Onuttom NarayanUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
See www.pt.ims.ca/12311-34
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