Time's Arrow ─ The Origins of Thermodynamic Behavior

This is a reprint of a 1992 work published by Springer Verlag. Mackey (McGill University) presents an approach to reconciling the second law of thermodynamics with the discrepancy that macroscopic entropy is ever increasing, but microscopic phenomenon are all reversible. He describes, for physicists and mathematicians, the dynamical properties required for the construction of a reliable (and relatively believable) statistical mechanics. The text is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)