Gerhard L. Salinger and Francis Weston Sears, Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Thermodynamics (1975), is a classic introduction. A detailed application of thermodynamic principles to phases, phase changes, and phase diagrams is given in Mats Hillert, Phase Equilibria, Phase Diagrams, and Phase Transformations: Their Thermodynamic Basis (1998).
Works focusing on phase equilibria in geology and petrology include W.G. Ernst, Petrologic Phase Equilibria (1976), a concise introduction to phase equilibria that assumes some knowledge of thermodynamics; Ernest G. Ehlers and Harvey Blatt, Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic (1982), an introduction to phase equilibria of petrologic systems; and Ernest G. Ehlers, The Interpretation of Geological Phase Diagrams (1972, reprinted 1987), which provides step-by-step nonmathematical procedures for understanding phase diagrams. A more recent work is Thomas M. Will, Phase Equilibria in Metamorphic Rocks: Thermodynamic Background and Petrological Applications (1998).
Three excellent introductions to the kinetic theory of gases at an elementary level are Joel H. Hildebrand, An Introduction to Molecular Kinetic Theory (1963, reissued 1966); Sidney Golden, Elements of the Theory of Gases (1964); and Gerhard L. Salinger and Francis W. Sears, Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Thermodynamics (1975). An accessible popular work that touches some of these issues is Hans Christian von Baeyer, Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: A History of Heat (1999; originally published as Maxwell’s Demon: Why Warmth Disperses and Time Passes, 1998).
Books that focus on historical development include Stephen Brush (ed.), Kinetic Theory, 3 vol. (1965–72), a set of famous historical papers along with introductory commentaries and summaries by the editor; Stephen Brush, The Kind of Motion We Call Heat: A History of the Kinetic Theory of Gases in the 19th Century, 2 vol. (1976, reissued 1986), a thorough historical account without much mathematics, and Statistical Physics and the Atomic Theory of Matter: From Boyle and Newton to Landau and Onsager (1983), which requires a thorough scientific background; Elizabeth Garber, Stephen Brush, and C.W.F. Everitt (eds.), Maxwell on Molecules and Gases (1986), a compilation of early writings on the kinetic theory of gases by the English physicist James Clerk Maxwell; and J.S. Rowlinson (ed.), J.D. van der Waals: On the Continuity of the Gaseous and Liquid States (1988), a translation of the seminal 1873 thesis by the Dutch physicist J.D. van der Waals, with an excellent introduction by the editor that surveys modern developments in the theory of liquids and solutions.
A classic survey of the liquid state by a pioneer in the field is given in J.S. Rowlinson (ed.), J.D. van der Waals: On the Continuity of the Gaseous and Liquid States (1988), with an extensive bibliography. J.N. Murrell and E.A. Boucher, Properties of Liquids and Solutions, 2nd ed. (1994), is a short introduction to the physics and chemistry of the liquid state. A general approach to the chemical thermodynamics of pure substances and solutions is given in the classic text Gilbert Newton Lewis and Merle Randall, Thermodynamics, 2nd ed., rev. by Kenneth S. Pitzer and Leo Brewer (1961). J.S. Rowlinson and F.L. Swinton, Liquids and Liquid Mixtures, 3rd ed. (1982), gives a thorough treatment of the physics of fluids and of the statistical mechanics of the equilibrium properties of simple pure liquids and liquid mixtures; the work also contains a data bibliography and is primarily for research-oriented readers.
More specialized books include John P. O’Connell, John M. Prausnitz, and Bruce E. Poling, The Properties of Gases and Liquids, 5th ed. (2001), which focuses on the vapour-liquid transition and evaluates techniques for estimating and correlating properties of gases and liquids, as well as tabulating the properties of 600 compounds; and John M. Prausnitz, Ruediger N. Lichtenthaler, and Edmundo Gomes de Azevedo, Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid-Phase Equilibria, 3rd ed. (1998), which is written from a chemical-engineering point of view.
Those interested in the properties of water from the physical and chemical standpoint, and in terms of biological function, will find accessible introductory descriptions in Sidney Perkowitz, “The Rarest Element,” The Sciences, 39:(1): 34–38 (Jan./Feb. 1999); and Mark W. Denny, Air and Water: The Biology and Physics of Life’s Media (1993).
Works on solids in general include Lawrence H. Van Vlack, Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, 6th ed. (1989), an elementary textbook; Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 8th ed. (2005), a standard college textbook; and Linus Pauling, The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals, 3rd ed. (1960, reissued 1989), a classic work on chemical bonding.
For crystalline solids in particular, Alan Holden and Phylis Morrison, Crystals and Crystal Growing (1960, reissued 1982), is a readable illustrated treatment; Richard P. Feynman, The Feynman Lectures on Physics: From Crystal Structure to Magnetism, vol. 3 (1999), is also highly accessible as a sound recording.
Richard Dalven, Introduction to Applied Solid State Physics, 2nd ed. (1990), is an intermediate-level textbook on semiconductors and semiconducting devices.
Books on magnetism include David Jiles, Introduction to Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2nd. ed. (1998); and Robert C. O’Handley, Modern Magnetic Materials: Principles and Applications (2000).
Fullerenes are reviewed in Wanda Andreoni, The Physics of Fullerene-Based and Fullerene-Related Materials (2000); and Mildred S. Dresselhaus, Gene Dresselhaus, and Phaedon Avouris (eds.), Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis, Structure, Properties, and Applications (2001)
Works on solids in general include Lawrence H. Van Vlack, Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, 6th ed. (1989), an elementary textbook; Charles A. Wert and Robb M. Thomson, Physics of Solids, 2nd ed. (1970), an intermediate-level text; Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 6th ed. (1986), the standard college textbook; Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, Solid State Physics (1976), an advanced textbook; George E. Bacon, The Architecture of Solids (1981), an introduction to bonding and structure; and Linus Pauling, The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals, 3rd ed. (1960, reissued 1989), the classic reference work on chemical bonding.
The history of liquid crystals in particular is surveyed by H. Kelker, “History of Liquid Crystals,” Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, 21(1 and 2):1–48 (May 1973). The Nobel Prize acceptance lecture by P.G. de Gennes, “Soft Matter,” Reviews of Modern Physics, 64(3):645–648 (July 1992), sets liquid crystals in a broader scientific context. Discussions of special topics in liquid crystals, frequently at a level close to this book, may be found in the periodical Condensed Matter News (bimonthly). More technical presentations are given in P.G. de Gennes, The Physics of Liquid Crystals (1974); S. Chandrasekhar, Liquid Crystals, 2nd ed. (1992); and P.S. Pershan, Structure of Liquid Crystal Phases (1988). Applications of liquid crystals are described in E. Kaneko, Liquid Crystal TV Displays (1987); and J. Funfschilling, “Liquid Crystals and Liquid Crystal Displays,” Condensed Matter News, 1:12–16 (1991).
Works on solids in general include Lawrence H. Van Vlack, Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, 6th ed. (1989), an elementary textbook; Charles A. Wert and Robb M. Thomson, Physics of Solids, 2nd ed. (1970), an intermediate-level text; Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 6th ed. (1986), the standard college textbook; Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, Solid State Physics (1976), an advanced textbook; George E. Bacon, The Architecture of Solids (1981), an introduction to bonding and structure; and Linus Pauling, The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals, 3rd ed. (1960, reissued 1989), the classic reference work on chemical bonding.
On amorphous solids in particular, a lucid introductory text accessible to a nontechnical reader is Richard Zallen, The Physics of Amorphous Solids (1983), with coverage of structural models for the various classes of amorphous solids as well as percolation theory, a modern paradigm for disordered systems. A classic advanced work is N.F. Mott and E.A. Davis, Electronic Processes in Non-crystalline Materials, 2nd ed. (1979), which features many of the theoretical contributions of Nobel Laureate coauthor Mott. A text providing a thorough treatment of oxide glasses is J. Zarzycki, Glasses and the Vitreous State (1991; originally published in French, 1982). A reference work with wide coverage of recent research topics, including detailed treatment of chalcogenide glasses, is S.R. Elliott, Physics of Amorphous Materials, 2nd ed. (1990). A comprehensive collection of detailed reviews is contained in R.W. Cahn, P. Haassen, and E.J. Kramer (eds.), Materials Science and Technology, vol. 6, Glasses and Amorphous Materials, ed. by J. Zarzycki (1991), including coverage of glass technology, formation, and structure, oxide glasses, chalcogenide glasses, metallic glasses, polymeric glasses, and the optical, electric, and mechanical properties of glasses. Amorphous silicon is treated in detail in another work, R.A. Street, Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon (1991).
Works on solids in general include Lawrence H. Van Vlack, Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, 6th ed. (1989), an elementary textbook; Charles A. Wert and Robb M. Thomson, Physics of Solids, 2nd ed. (1970), an intermediate-level text; Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 6th ed. (1986), the standard college textbook; Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, Solid State Physics (1976), an advanced textbook; George E. Bacon, The Architecture of Solids (1981), an introduction to bonding and structure; and Linus Pauling, The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals, 3rd ed. (1960, reissued 1989), the classic reference work on chemical bonding.
Introductions to quasicrystals in particular are available in David R. Nelson, “Quasicrystals,” Scientific American, 255(2):43–51 (August 1986); Peter W. Stephens and Alan I. Goldman, “The Structure of Quasicrystals,” Scientific American, 264(4): 44–47, 50–53 (April 1991); and P.J. Steinhardt, “Icosahedral Solids: A New Phase of Matter?,” Science, 238(4831): 1242–47 (Nov. 27, 1987). Martin Gardner, “Mathematical Games,” Scientific American, 236(1):110–112, 115–121 (January 1977), discusses Penrose tilings and their remarkable properties. More technically detailed works are D.P. DiVencenzo and P.J. Steinhardt (eds.), Quasicrystals: The State of the Art (1991); and the series Aperiodicity and Order, ed. by Marko V. Jarić (1988–).
Yaffa Eliezer and Shalom Eliezer, The Fourth State of Matter: An Introduction to the Physics of Plasma, 2nd ed. (2001), is a useful starting point for general readers. More advanced texts, some with applications in nuclear fusion and in terrestrial plasmas, include Francis F. Chen, Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (1984); Michael C. Kelley and Rodney A. Heelis, The Earth’s Ionosphere: Plasma Physics and Electrodynamics (1989); R.J. Goldston and P.H. Rutherford, Introduction to Plasma Physics (1995, reissued 2000); and Masahiro Wakatani and Kyoji Nishikawa, Plasma Physics: Basic Theory with Fusion Applications, 3rd rev. ed. (2000), which begins at an introductory level.
Overviews of nuclear fusion efforts involving plasmas include Ruth Howes and Anthony Fainberg (eds.), The Energy Sourcebook: A Guide to Technology, Resources, and Policy (1991); and National Research Council (U.S.), Fusion Science Assessment Committee, An Assessment of the Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences Program (2001). An accessible description of one approach to fusion energy production is Gerald Yonas, “Fusion and the Z Pinch,” Scientific American, 279(2): 40–45 (August 1998).
Robert H. Eather, Majestic Lights: The Aurora in Science, History, and the Arts (1980), is a broad treatment of the aurora, with numerous illustrations. An accessible account of research on the solar plasma is given in Robert Irion, “Our Tortured Star,” New Scientist, 162(2184): 44–48 (May 1, 1999).
Michael A. Duncan and Dennis H. Roubray, “Microclusters,” Scientific American, 261(6):110–115 (December 1989), provides a general introduction and survey for nonscientists. Works presenting the results of recent research include R. Stephen Berry, “When the Melting and Freezing Points Are Not the Same,” Scientific American, 263(2): 68–72, 74 (August 1990), written for nonscientists, a description of the melting and freezing of clusters and their relation to bulk melting and freezing; and several collections of conference proceedings: P. Jena, B.K. Rao, and S.N. Khanna (eds.), Physics and Chemistry of Small Clusters (1987), covering a wide variety of topics within cluster science; S. Sugano, Y. Nishina, and S. Ohnishi (eds.), Microclusters (1987); G. Scoles (ed.), The Chemical Physics of Atomic and Molecular Clusters (1990), at the graduate-student level; S. Sugano, Microcluster Physics (1991), accessible to scientifically literate readers; and Zeitschrift für Physik, part D, vol. 19 and 20 (1991) and vol. 26 (1993), the proceedings of the international conferences on small particles and inorganic clusters held in 1990 and 1992, respectively.