[Proflist] Best texts for thermo, physical and mesoscale?

Mon Aug 27 11:45:18 MDT 2007

Concerning my own experiences with atmospheric thermodynamics texts:

Bohren and Albrecht came out shortly before I taught my first
undergraduate thermodynamics course (in 2003). The course was at the
junior level and was 3 credits of thermodynamics only. The title of
the book, and the publisher, both suggested I couldn't go wrong.
However, the book proved to be mostly useless to the students. Much of
the interesting rants etc. the authors like to divulge in go over an
undergraduate's head; they just don't have the context to appreciate it
at that level. It also is a bit dense in the mathematics; I found myself
taking hours to work through their chapter sections and derivations
(imagine how long it would take a junior!). So I only used it one
semester, and didn't use it much during that semester. Maybe a senior
level class would respond better the book. I find B&A to make a good
reference, and their end-of-the-chapter "thought experiment" questions
are fun, but I feel it's really a book written for instructors, not for
students.

The following year I tried Tsonis' first edition and had some luck, but
found it to be mostly unsatisfactory. I have not seen the second edition
yet. I ended up gravitating back towards my own notes, which stemmed
from B&A, W&H 1st ed. and my own undergraduate course notes.

I was quite excited to see Wallace and Hobbs second edition *finally*
get published (RIP Peter Hobbs). I used the first edition as an
undergraduate myself. I feel chapter 3 basically gives students what
they need in thermodynamics without a lot of depth. The 3 credit course
I am using it in currently is a split between thermodynamics and
radiation, so I am using chapters 3 and 4. I would definitely need a
supplement to W&H for a 3 credit thermo-only class. And COMET modules
are always a nice supplement.

The radiation/thermodynamics class I teach now is a sophomore level
class, BTW. Students are required to have Calculus 1 and University
Physics 1. When designing the MET program we felt that althogh the
math involved in thermodynamics really requires higher level math to
do some of the stuff right (e.g., differential equations) that it
should be taught early on since its a bulding-blocks type of a class.
My approach is a split between the background theory / mathematical
deriviations, and the applications (thermodynamic diagrams etc.). I
think there is a tendency to overdo the theory of thermodynamics without
spending enough time on practical applications. Filling boards full of
derivations can be satisfying from an instructor's perspective, but
I'm not convinced using this approach as a main vehicle for teaching
benefits the undergraduate as much as being more applied (I speak from
my own experience as an undergrad). That is my opinion and undoubtedly
influences my own textbook choice.

I would strongly recommend getting a desk copy of all of the texts
quited by Alan below before making a final decision. It really depends
on what level your students are at and what you want to focus on.

Leigh

"Alan Robock" wrote:

--
Leigh Orf
KG4ULP
Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences
Department of Geography
281 Dow Science Complex
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
(989)774-1923
Research Journal: http://research.orf.cx/journal