Physics 403; Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics

Instructor; Jeffrey R. Schmidt, 319 GNQ, jeff@rustam.uwp.edu

Please notice the preparatory materials linked below.

Topics

The course covers the following topics.

Topic	Problems
Thermodynamics	20
Equations of state, thermodynamic variables, free energy
Legendre transformations, Maxwell relations, Fundamental
relations, thermodynamic computations.

Foundations, kinetic theory	10
Boltzmann theory, H theorem, Stosszahlansatz
Poincare' and Liouville theorems, meaning of
equilibrium, Kac ring, Ehrenfest wind tree
model collision dynamics

Classical statistical mechanics	20
Partition functions, Maximal entropy principle
Classical problems and examples, real gases
Ising model

Quantum statistical mechanics	20
Fermion, Bosons, low temperature thermodynamic
variables, Bose-Einstein condensation

Applications	30
Polymer physics
Physical chemistry
Astrophysics
Condensed matter physics
Low temperature phenomena
Critical phenomena
Van Der Waals theory
Landau theory

Reading assignments

, in the text (Wannier) and several other books that are either in the library, or will be on reserve in 230 GNQ.

Study-hall sessions You are expected to schedule eight hours per week in room 230/231 GNQ. During this time you are expected to conduct your readings and solve homework problems, work through examples, and discuss course material. There will be a sign-up sheet, and a "time card". I will conduct course office hours in these rooms during several of the time slots.

Course materials will be archived here for your convenience. Please check this site periodically. Some homework will contain options to use either analytical or simulational tools to solve problems. Computer programs and simulations will be linked here for download. You may also want to check the physics 499 site for useful programs and simulations.

Text and preparatory material

Text; Statistical Physics by G. H. Wannier, $14.95 (Dover).
You may wish to read this (xml) or PDF if you have not taken Probability and Statistics. It may be a useful reference even if you have taken the course.
Buffon's needle simulation used in the probability handout. Requires Xwindows and libplot. Learn much more about using the computer random number generator in Physics 241.

Grading is based on 80-100 homework problems assigned throughout the semester. Each is worth 10 points. Homework has due dates, late homework will not be accepted for full credit. Homework no more than one assignment late will be accepted for a maximum of 5 points per problem.
In addition there will be a final and a midterm inclass exam each worth 50-100 points, depending on relative difficulty of the problems. You are able to ascertain your projected grade at any time, based on a point accumulation;

Course grade Point minimum

A 900

B 800

C 650

D 500

F Below 500

There may be periodic quizzes given to help you accumulate points.
Assignments will be essentially two problems assigned Tuesdays, due on Thursday, and four problems per week assigned Thursdays due the following Tuesday. It is very important that you stay current on your homework.

Suggested references Course materials will be provided to you (400+ pages), but you will find the following texts useful.

Thermal Physics , Kittel and Kroemer.
Statistical Mechanics Kubo.
Statistical Mechanics Feynman.
Statistical Physics (Landau), Lifschitz, and Pitaevski
Thermodynamics H. B. Callen

Any of these will serve you well for reference. Another useful book is Physical Chemistry by Daniels and Alberty. The book by Kubo is most strongly recommended, and we will use many problems from it. The book by Callen is a valuable reference for anyone intending to go into research in this field.

Support programs for specific homework

Programs placed here probably require that you compile and run them under UNIX/LINUX.

clt.c central limit theorem illustration.
ensemble.c ensembles of oscillators.
poincare.c poincare recurrence for 2-D gas. Windows 95/98/NT4.0 executable, poincare.exe if you cannot compile the source.
md1.c Monte Carlo simulation for 1-D gas
md2.c molecular dynamics simulation for 1-D gas.
md1.exe Windows executable
md2.exe Windows executable
Kac ring animation source code, needs Xwindows to compile, sorry, no Windows95/98/NT version.
Kac ring problem solver, draws the ring for N_b(0)=2, N_w(0)=2, M=1 versus time , accepting time from command line. Source code, needs Xwindows to compile, sorry, no WIN32 version. Deal with it.