Molecular Driving Forces [Statistical Thermodynamics in Chemistry and Biology] by Ken A. Dill, Sarina Bromberg

by Ken A. Dill, Sarina Bromberg

Molecular Driving Forces [Statistical Thermodynamics in Chemistry and Biology] by Ken A. Dill, Sarina Bromberg Overview

Molecular Driving Forces is an introductory statistical thermodynamics text that describes the principles and forces that drive chemical and biological processes. It shows how the complex behaviors of molecules can result from a few simple physical processes, and a central theme is how simple models can give surprisingly accurate insights into the workings of the molecular world.


Written in a clear and reader-friendly style, the book gives an excellent introduction to the subject for novices. It should be useful to those who want to develop their understanding of this important field, seeing how physical principles can be applied to the study of modern problems in the chemical, biological, and materials sciences.

About the Author

KEN A. DILL is Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his undergraduate training at MIT, his PhD from the University of California, San Diego, and did postdoctoral work at Stanford. A leading researcher in biopolymer statistical mechanics and protein folding, he has been the President of the Biophysical Society and received the Hans Neurath Award from the Protein Society in 1998.

SARINA BROMBERG received her BFA at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, her PhD in molecular biophysics from Wesleyan University, and her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. She writes, edits and illustrates scientific textbooks.

Molecular Driving Forces [Statistical Thermodynamics in Chemistry and Biology] by Ken A. Dill, Sarina Bromberg Review

This book is a triumph of technical writing. Ken Dill possesses an extraordinary ability to distill complex technical concepts down to the cogent bits necessary to understand the physics of the situation. The maxim, "make it as simple as possible, but not simpler" definitely applies here. The only major challenge with this book is that a reader may come away with a notion of inflated comprehension. This is not a fault...just a byproduct of the big contrast between the clarity of the Dill (and Bromberg) text and the other, technically obfuscated, textbooks and articles in the field.

Easily the best (introductory) textbook on statistical physics that I have encountered, and the only one that I can heartily recommend to a student or non-specialist.

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Molecular Driving Forces [Statistical Thermodynamics in Chemistry and Biology] by Ken A. Dill, Sarina Bromberg