ABSTRACT
A solid understanding of the basic equilibrium thermodynamic notions like temperature, work, heat, entropy, etc., in the framework of statistical physics is a main prerequisite in order to comprehend nonequilibrium processes and irreversibilities, and efficiency and losses in energy conversion and storage. For this purpose, this chapter reviews some basics of statistical equilibrium thermodynamics. Although we start more or less from scratch, it is assumed that you once took a course in thermodynamics and statistics and will enjoy this chapter mainly as a refresher. The focus is on the fundamental concepts, with the cost of generality, completeness, and sometime even formal strictness. In case you want to learn more on statistical thermodynamics, there are many excellent textbooks about the matter (see, e.g., [Som96, Hil60]).
