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Physicochemical mechanics is a self-contained theoretical framework that can be used to study and model physicochemical processes, based on well-known concepts taken from classical mechanics. This intuitive approach exploits the principles of Newtonian mechanics alongside Einstein's theory of Brownian motion in order to accurately describe complex biochemical systems, and can be used to model a broad range of phenomena including thermodiffusion, transmembrane transport and protein folding. The book begins by presenting the basic principles of classical mechanics and thermodynamics, before introducing the two new postulates of physicochemical mechanics. It is shown that these foundational concepts can be applied to systematically describe all major mass transport and equilibrium equations, and many practical applications of the theory are discussed. This text will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in biological physics, biochemistry and chemical engineering, and a useful resource for researchers seeking an introduction to this modern theoretical approach.
List of contents
1. Introduction; 2. Basics of Mechanics; 3. Elements of Statistical and Stochastic Mechanics of Transport; 4. Chemical Thermodynamics in the Presence of Fields; 5. Basics of Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics; 6. Basics of Physicochemical Mechanics; 7. Physicochemical Mechanics - Selected Applications; 8. Diffusion; 9. Heat Transfer; 10. Transmembrane Transport and Biomimetic Membranes; 11. Outlook and a Word of Caution; Index.
About the author
Nikolai M. Kocherginsky is a Researcher in the Gruebele Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was previously Professor in Chemical Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He has published over 140 papers and along with Martin Gruebele has been responsible for the development of the theory of physicochemical mechanics within the context of biological physics.
Summary
Physicochemical mechanics is a modern theoretical framework that can be used to model physicochemical processes, based on well-known concepts taken from classical mechanics. This self-contained book provides a detailed summary of this theoretical approach and its many useful applications in biological physics, biochemistry and chemical engineering.
