Physics 425: Statistical and Thermal Physics

Course outline

Probability and necessary mathematics: Probability, distributions, counting, partial derivatives

Basics of classical thermodynamics: States, macroscopic vs. microscopic, "heat" and "work", energy, entropy, equilibrium, laws of thermodynamics

More classical thermodynamics: Equations of state, thermodynamic potentials, temperature, pressure, chemical potential, thermodynamic processes (engines, refrigerators), Maxwell relations, phase equilibria.

Statistical mechanics - the formalism: Counting states, ensembles (microcanonical, canonical, grand canonical), the partition function and its applications, fluctuations from equilibrium, equipartition.

Magnetic systems: Paramagnetism, ferromagnetism, adiabatic cooling, susceptibility and correlations, mean field theory, Ising model.

Gases: Classical ideal gas (Maxwell distribution), Bose gas (mode-counting, photons, phonons, BEC), Fermi gas (degeneracy pressure, heat capacity), van der Waals and "real" gases.

Phase transitions: Landau theory, scaling, renormalization, solution to 1D Ising

Transport: Diffusion, Brownian motion, Boltzmann equation.

Special topics: Arrow of time, fluctuation-dissipation theorem, nonequilibrium systems, granular media, the density matrix

Organization

Lectures T Th 1:00 - 2:20 PM

Homework (40%) Weekly problem sets

Term exam (30%)

Final exam (30%)

Text: F. Reif, Statistical and Thermal Physics

Posted solutions for problems

Recent Instructors

Douglas Natelson, Fall 2007, www.owlnet.rice.edu/~phys425

All information is representative only, and is likely to change from year to year.