ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to develop the formalism of statistical mechanics in a way that can be used for biological applications. The idea of statistical mechanics is to deliver a probability distribution that tells us the probability of all of the different microstates. The use of entropy maximization for probability assignments has a rich history and one of the more amusing and instructive examples is the application of these ideas to assigning probabilities when faced with a dishonest die. Binding curves are one of the primary windows on the function of many molecules of biological interest. Statistical mechanics is one of the most powerful and far-reaching tools of all of physics. To the extent that the use of equilibrium ideas makes sense for biological problems, statistical mechanics is a powerful part of the set of tools that life scientists bring to their quantitative work as well.
