Abstract
Formalism of the Path Probability method (PPM) of irreversible statistical mechanics has been examined in order to explore the applicability of the method to a variety of kinetic problems. It is found that the PPM works very well when the time dependence of macrovariables in homogeneous systems such as the order-disorder transformations in alloys is studied. If the method is applied to problems in which deviations from the above conditions are involved, however, the reliability of the method decreases. In this category, applications to transport problems are discussed exclusively. Here, the degree of approximation is found to be not as good as that expected from the method taken. The examination of the cause leads to a conversion method which gives results with the same degree of approximation as that in the homogeneous case.
