The Collected Works of Lars Onsager: (With Commentary) (World Scientific Series in 20th Century Physics, Vol 17)

This volume contains the collected works of the eminent chemist and physicist Lars Onsager, one of the most influential scientists of the 20th Century.The volume includes Onsager's previously unpublished PhD thesis, a biography by H C Longuet-Higgins and M E Fisher, an autobiographical commentary, selected photographs, and a list of Onsager discussion remarks in print.Onsager's scientific achievements were characterized by deep insights into the natural sciences. His two best-known accomplishments are his reciprocal relations for irreversible processes, for which he received the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and his explicit solution of the two-dimensional Ising model, a mathematical tour de force that created a sensation when it appeared. In addition, he made significant theoretical contributions to other fields, including electrolytes, colloids, superconductivity, turbulence, ice, electrons in metals, and dielectrics.In this volume, Onsager's contributions are divided into the following fields: irreversible processes; the Ising model; electrolytes; colloids; helium II and vortex quantization; off-diagonal long-range order and flux quantization; electrons in metal; turbulence; ion recombination; fluctuation theory; dielectrics; ice and water; biology; Mathieu functions. The different fields are evaluated by leading experts. The commentators are P W Anderson, R Askey, A Chorin, C Domb, R J Donnelly, W Ebeling, J-C Justice, H N W Lekkerkerker, P Mazur, H P McKean, J F Nagle, T Odijk, A B Pippard, G Stell, G H Weiss, and C N Yang. Lars Onsager 1903-1976 - A biographical memoir / H. Christopher Longuet-Higgins and Michael E. Fisher -- Irreversible processes. Onsager's reciprocal relations and thermodynamics of irreversible processes -- The Ising model. The Ising model -- Path crossings with Lars Onsager -- Electrolytes. Lars Onsager's contribution to electrolyte theory -- Electrons in metal. Onsager's papers on electrons in metals -- Colloids. Impact of particle shape on the physics of colloidal suspensions -- Dielectrics. The dielectric constant and mean electrostatic energy of molecular fluids -- Helium II and vortex quantization. Onsager's quantization of circulation in superfluid helium -- Off-diagonal long-range order and flux quantization. Off-diagonal long-range order and flux quantization -- Turbulence. Onsager's contribution to turbulence theory: Vortex dynamics and turbulence in ideal flow -- Ion recombination. Onsager's contribution to reaction-rate theory -- Fluctuation theory. Onsager and Machlup's work on fluctuations in statistical physics -- Ice and water. Ice and related topics -- Biology. Biology -- Mathieu functions. Lars Onsager's thesis -- Other topics -- Onsager discussion remarks in print This volume contains the collected works of chemist and physicist Lars Onsager. It includes a look at his reciprocal relations for irreversible processes, and at his explicit solution of the two-dimensional Ising model. Editors P.c. Hemmer, H. Holden, S. Kjelstrup Ratkje. Includes Bibliographical References.