Fundamental Aspects of Plasma Chemical Physics: Thermodynamics

Fundamental Aspects of Plasma Chemical Physics - Thermodynamics develops basic and
advanced concepts of plasma thermodynamics from both classical and statistical points of
view.
After a refreshment of classical thermodynamics applied to the dissociation and ionization
regimes, the book invites the reader to discover the role of electronic excitation in
affecting the properties of plasmas, a topic often overlooked by the thermal plasma
community.
Particular attention is devoted to the problem of the divergence of the partition function
of atomic species and the state-to-state approach for calculating the partition function of
diatomic and polyatomic molecules. The limit of ideal gas approximation is also discussed,
by introducing Debye-Huckel and virial corrections.
Throughout the book, worked examples are given in order to clarify concepts and
mathematical approaches.
This book is a first of a series of three books to be published by the authors on
fundamental aspects of plasma chemical physics. The next books will discuss transport
and kinetics.