Some aspects of the thermodynamic limit

Scientific article / Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1970, Vol. 22, No. 3–4, pp. 293–302.The historical development of statistical mechanics over the last hundred years is outlined, culminating in the work of Ruelle and of Fisher in 1963. The thermodynamic limit' is defined and conditions on intermolecular potentials and limit theorems are next examined as preliminaries to a detailed consideration of the associated equivalence problem. In conclusion the limits of applicability of thermodynamics are noted.