Physics 461, Fall 1999, Thermal and Statistical Physics, Section 84067

Lectures: MF 1100-1150, SES 132; W 1100-1250, SES 132 (4 hours total)

Lecturer: John F. Marko , Department of Physics , SES 2374, jmarko@uic.edu

Official Textbook:

`Thermal Physics', Second Edition, by C. Kittel and H. Kroemer (Freeman and Co, New York 1984). 
Kittel and Kroemer may be purchased from barnesandnoble.com 
We will not religiously follow this book. It is meant as a complementary source, not as a replacement for the lectures.

A Second Textbook Recommended Highly by Mr. A. Sarkar of Our Department:

`Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics'  by P.T. Landsberg, originally published by Oxford University Press, but now available as a cheap Dover reprint.  This book covers both thermodynamics and statistical mechanics at the advanced undergraduate level and covers most of our syllabus.  Mr. Sarkar particularly recommended using this book in preparation for the UIC Physics Ph.D. prelim exam.

Elementary Texts on Thermodynamics:

`Thermal Physics' by M. Sprackling (AIP Press, New York 1991).

`Heat and Thermodynamics' by M.W. Zemansky and R.H. Dittman (McGraw Hill).

More Advanced Books That You Might Enjoy:

`Statistical Mechanics' by R.K. Pathria (Pergamon Press); `Statistical Mechanics' by S.K. Ma (World Scientific 1985); `Theory of the Brownian Movement' by A. Einstein (Dover); `Mathematical Foundations of Statistical Mechanics', by A.I. Khinchin (Dover).
These and other books may be ordered from either amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. 

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Course Outline:

Probability (distributions, normalization, averages, fluctuations, central limit theorem, diffusion)

Counting (two-state system, time vs ensemble averages, thermodynamic limit, flexible polymer statistics)

Ideal Gas (assumptions, pressure vs energy)

Energy Fluctuations (detailed balance, Boltzmann distribution, temperature, ideal gas)

Entropy in Microscopic Terms (definition, microcanonical description, two-state system, ideal gas)

Connection to Thermodynamics (temperature, heat, entropy, laws of thermodynamics, illustrations for ideal gas)

Canonical Ensemble (ideal gas, two state system)

Grand Canonical Ensemble (chemical potential, ideal gas, chemical equilibrium, lattice gas)

Weakly Interacting Gas (density expansion, virial coefficient)

Oscillators (classical, quantum, black body radiation)

Fermi Gas (Fermi distribution, high-temperature limit, low-temperature limit)

Bose Gas (high-temperature limit, Bose condensation, superconductivity)

Crystal Lattice Vibrations (Einstein and Debye models)

Phase Transitions (liquid-gas-solid, first and second order phase transitions, ferromagnetism, phase separation, critical exponents, Landau theory, crystallization)

Transfer Matrix (1d Ising model)

Monte Carlo Calculation on the Computer (2d Ising model)

Dynamics (random walk, diffusion and 2nd law, Einstein relation, Langevin equation, equilibrium vs. nonequilibrium kinetics, phase ordering kinetics, critical slowing down) 

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Lecture Notes, Problem Sets and Other Downloadable Course Documents:

Lecture Notes

Problem Set 1 Postscript or PDF Due September 8

Problem Set 1 Fortran Random Number Program Text File (download and save as file, it will be a mess in netscape)

Problem Set 2 Postscript or PDF Due September 20

Problem Set 3 Postscript or PDF Due WEDNESDAY October 6 (typo in problem 1 corrected 10/1/99)

Problem Set 4 PDF Due WEDNESDAY October 20

Problem Set 5 PDF or HTML Due WEDNESDAY November 3

Problem Set 6 PDF or HTML Due FRIDAY November 19 (no late assignments so the grading can be done over the weekend)

Problem Set 7 PDF or HTML Due WEDNESDAY December 1

Problem Set Solutions

Midterm I PDF or HTML

Midterm II PDF or HTML

Exam Solutions

Postscript files can be downloaded and viewed with e.g. ghostscript and printed on most university printers. PDF files may be viewed and printed on almost any PC with the free program Acroread from Adobe. Text files (e.g. computer programs) should be downloaded and then saved.

Fortran programs have been tested on tigger, and should run on icarus as well.

You will notice that some of the problem sets are also available in HTML format, created with a program called tth. To view this file, you need Netscape 4.x, and on unix machines you must add a line to the file .Xdefaults in your home directory (or if the file is absent, just make one with one line):

Netscape*documentFonts.charset*adobe-fontspecific: iso-8859-1

Exams and Grading:

15% Midterm I        F Oct 8 in class, one hour
20% Midterm II      W Oct 27 in class, two hours
25% Homework      Approximately 7 problem sets, 4-5 problems per set, sets equally weighted
40% Final                 M Dec 6 1030 AM - 1230 PM 2284 SEL

Final letter grades will be determined based on the undergraduate student numeric grade distribution.  Graduate students will be assigned grades based on the undergraduate student grade distribution.

Incompletes will be assigned only for students with documented medical problems that make finishing the course impossible.

For exams you may bring ONE 8-1/2 x 11 inch page of notes, and you can put what you like on BOTH sides. No other materials can be used.  Calculators are really not needed.