  Due to the equivalence of the statistical ensembles thermostatic properties
of physical systems with short-range interactions can be calculated in
different ensembles leading to the same physics. In particular, the ensemble
equivalence holds for systems that undergo a continuous phase transition in the
infinite volume limit so that the properties of the transition can also be
investigated in the microcanonical approach. Considering as example the
spherical model the ensemble equivalence is explicitly demonstrated by
calculating the critical properties in the microcanonical ensemble and
comparing them to the well-known canonical results.
