PHYS385
Special Topic: (Thermal and Statistical Physics) Fall 2008
Lecturer: Scott Heinekamp (scotth@wells.edu)
Stratton 202 o:364-3361 h:(315) 364-7676
aurora.wells.edu/~swh is my home page
Lecture
Monday 6:15-7:30 pm, Thursday 8:15-9:30 am
Office Hours: Wed 12:30-1:30; Fri 1:30-2:30 or by appointment
Course Description and Intent: As a discipline,
Thermal Physics "inhabits" all physical science. When a system made
of large numbers of entities that interact with one another (could be
classical particles, or "charges", or quantum excitations like
electrons or photons, or artificial-but-conceptually-valuable beasties like
"spins"), a complete microscopic description cannot be attempted.
Yet, invariably, a few identifiable THERMODYNAMIC VARIABLES emerge to describe
the system's macroscopically-observed properties. Thus, thermodynamics is only
partly a theory, tied as it is so strongly to experiment. It's full of
mathematics but the theory is encoded in a handful of (numbered) THERMODYNAMIC
LAWS.
Apart from the thermodynamic variable called
temperature, the laws governing the interactions in the system will determine
other thermodynamic variables: pressure and volume, perhaps, or magnetic field
and magnetization, or chemical potential and particle count. We'll look at
thermodynamic processes, where some quantities ar
useful but aren't true "state variables": like work, and heat. And
there'll be other, stranger, variables, like entropy and the various
thermodynamic potentials.
What is the connection between Thermal and Statistical
Physics? It is in the the way we connect the
micro-world to the macro-world -- for it is solely the theorists who dwell in
the micro realm, while the experimentalists can only measure the macro. From
the theory of statistical mechanics, along with thermodynamics, physicists have
created a fantastically powerful way of viewing complex systems. And its rules
don't "break down" in extreme situations: it can help us understand
elementary particles, and atomic systems, and technologically useful devices
and materials, and stars, and even black holes.
List of Topics (see the Lecture
Schedule):
Part I: Kinetic Theory. Gas Laws.
Maxwell Distributions. Thermodynamic processes. Work, Heat and Internal Energy. Reversibility
and Equilibrium. Temperature.
Part II: Entropy. Mathematics of
Equations of State. Thermodynamic Functions and
Maxwell Relations. Probability. Elementary Statistical Mechanics and Entropy. Boltzmann's Factor. Ensembles Defined.
Part III: Canonical Ensemble. Helmholtz's
Free Energy. Particle Statistics. Wave Statistics.
Part IV: Grand Canonical Ensemble. Examples:
Low-temperature Physics/Phase Transitions
Textbook: Introductory
Statistical Mechanics (2nd edition) by Bowley
& Sanchez is clear and carefully written and stands on its own. Homework
will often be taken from it. Other books, including Reif's
Statistical and Thermal Physics, and many other,
are invaluable as well, as they may explain the physics in more detail! You are
encouraged to find books in the library and get to know them. I will make some
suggestions as we go along.
Basis of Your Grade:
Homework (35%): Not every problem will be graded. Here
is the link: Homework
Quizzes/Midterm (40% = 10% + 20% [midterm] + 10%): Three
"exam experiences". The first and third will be briefer, while the
second one will be more intensive.
Final Exam (25%).