| Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
| Jan 30 |
Methods of Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics. Definitions of thermodynamics.
Temperature. Equation of state. |
Thermodynamic coefficients. Work. Internal energy. First law of thermodynamics. Heat. Heat
capacity. Mayer's equation. |
| Feb 6 |
The adiabatic equation. Heat machines. Carnot cycle. |
College closed because of a blizzard |
| Feb 13 |
Entropy at equilibrium. Thermodynamic potentials. Thermodynamic relations. Entropy of the ideal gas.
Adiabatic thermodynamic coefficients. |
Third law of thermodynamics. Systems with variable mass, chemical potential. Thermodynamic
stability. |
| Feb 20 |
Second law of thermodynamics. Carnot's theorem. Entropy
increase in irreversible processes. |
Molecular theory of the ideal gas. Basic assumptions. Characteristic lengths.
Velocity and speed distribution function. Molecular flux. Pressure due to molecular impact. |
| Feb 27 |
Relation between temperature and average kinetic energy. Heat
capacity of the ideal gas. Degrees of freedom. Maxwell-Boltzmann disctribution. Characteristic speeds of
molecules. |
Problem solving |
| Mar 6 |
Midterm test 1 |
Statistical physics. Classical vs. quantum approaches. Quantum
states and equidistribution assumption. Combinatorics and thermodynamic
probability. Coin tossing experiment. Stirling formula |
| Mar 13 |
Combinatorics of multistate particles. Degeneracy.
Thermodynamic probability and entropy. Quantization. |
Formalism of quantum mechanics. Eigenvalue problems for
matrices and differential operators. Stationary Schrödinger equation. Particle
in a rigid box. Degeneracy. Density of states. |
| Mar 20 |
Boltzmann statistics. Relation between statistical parameters
and thermodynamic quantities. |
Statistical thermodynamics of the ideal gas |
| Mar 27 |
Statistical mechanics of harmonic oscillators |
Average quantum number of the harmonic oscillator as a
particular case of the Bose-Einstein distribution. Statistical mechanics of
rotators |
| Apr 3 |
Solid as a collection of harmonic oscillators. Sound waves in a
box. Phonons. Density of states. |
Heat capacity of solids. Einstein and Debye theories. |
| Apr 10 |
Spring Recess |
Spring Recess |
| Apr 17 |
Spring Recess |
Spins in magnetic field. Energy levels and partition function. |
| Apr 24 |
Spins in magnetic field. Brillouin function, heat capacity, and
magnetic susceptibility. |
Systems of indistinguishable particles. Spin and statistics.
Bosons and fermions. Bose condensation. |
| May 1 |
Energy, heat capacity, and pressure of the Bose gas. Fermi gas
at zero temperature. |
Degenerate Fermi gas at nonzero temperatures. Heat capacity of
the degenerate Fermi gas |
| May 8 |
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|
| May 15 |
Solving problems |
Midterm test 2 |