Felix Bloch (1905-1983) was one of the great men of twentieth-century physics. He laid the foundation for the theory of solids and may truly be considered the father of solid-state physics. He played a central role in the theory of magnetism. With Alvarez, he measured the magnetic moment of the neutron. His work on nuclear magnetic resonance was recognized by the award of a Nobel Prize. With Nordsieck, he provided the key insight into the resolution of the infrared problem in quantum electrodynamics. Any one of these accomplishments constitutes a major lifetime achievement. Only a handful of scientists have achieved as many.
Felix Bloch was also one of the giants of Stanford University. He was the first faculty member to receive a Nobel Prize, and for work done at that institution. During his years at Stanford, Felix Bloch taught a course on statistical mechanics many times. In going through his papers, I found problem sets dating back to Spring Quarter of 1933-34. Bloch's first-year graduate course on statistical mechanics was a highlight of the graduate career for several generations of Stanford students.
Statistical mechanics is a powerful subject. It is the key to understanding the physical behavior of the many-body systems making up the world around us. The basic goal is to relate the physical properties of a macroscopic laboratory sample in thermal equilibrium to the detailed dynamical behavior of the atomic and subatomic systems constituting the sample. The number of such constituents is generally vast, comparable to Avo-gadro's number N = 6.023 x 1023/mole. Ordinary experience gives us very little feel for this magnitude, yet it provides the basis for equilibrium statistical mechanics. Once the fundamental principles are understood, statistical mechanics immediately relates microscopic behavior to physical observables.
Precisely these fundamental principles lay at the heart of Felix Bloch's course. The principles were initially developed by J. W. Gibbs in his classic work Elementary Principles of Statistical Mechanics, published in New York in 1902. Felix was fond of saying that in preparing this course he spent most of his time and effort trying to understand and interpret Gibbs (whom, incidentally, he considered the first truly great American physicist). The course always included applications, but specifically to illustrate the principles. On many occasions, Felix said that it was not a
