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PHYS 317 - Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
Course Description
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Office Hours: To be determined |
Course Schedule and Assignments
Date: |
Topics: |
Assignments Due: |
| Wed, Aug 27 | Thermal Equilibrium and the Ideal Gas | Read 1.1 and 1.2 (up to p. 14). |
| Fri, Aug 29 | Ideal Gas and Equipartition | Read 1.3 RA #1 |
| Mon, Sep 1 | Heat and Work | Read 1.4 and 1.5 RA #2 |
| Wed, Sep 3 | Work, Heat Capacities | Read 1.6 RA #3 HW #1 due: 1.1, 1.3 (plot these semi-accurately on a number line), 1.11, 1.12, 1.16, 1.19, 1.25, 1.27 |
| Fri, Sep 5 | Chapter 1 review | Reading catchup. No RA. |
| Mon, Sep 8 | Combinatorics and Coin Flips | Read 2.1. RA #4 |
| Wed, Sep 10 | The Einstein Solid | Read 2.2 and 2.3. RA #5 HW #2 due: 1.31 (treat He as an ideal gas), 1.35, 1.36, 1.42, 1.48 (50-50 by volume), 1.49, 1.54 |
| Fri, Sep 12 | Large Numbers and the Thermodynamic Limit | Read 2.4. RA #6 |
| Mon, Sep 15 | The Ideal Gas | Read 2.5. RA #7 |
| Wed, Sep 17 | Entropy | Read 2.6 up to problems on page 77. HW #3 due: 2.2, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 2.12, 2.17, 2.24, 2.27 |
| Fri, Sep 19 | Entropy, Mixing, and Irreversibility | Read 2.6. RA #8 |
| Mon, Sep 22 | Review | HW #4 due:2.30, 2.31, 2.34, 2.37 |
| Wed, Sep 24 | Exam 1 |
Date: |
Topics: |
Assignments Due: |
| Fri, Sep 26 | Temperature Defined! | Read 3.1. RA #9 |
| Mon, Sep 29 | Entropy, Heat and History | Read 3.2. RA #10 |
| Wed, Oct 1 | Paramagnetism and Negative Temperatures | Read 3.3. RA #11
HW #5 due:3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.8, 3.10, 3.13, 3.14 |
| Fri, Oct 3 | Mechanical Equilibrium and Pressure | Read 3.4. RA #12 |
| Mon, Oct 6 | Diffusive Equilibrium and Chemical Potential | Read 3.5 and 3.6 RA #13 |
| Wed, Oct 8 | Engines | Read 4.1. HW #6 due: 3.23, 3.25, 3.31, 3.33, 3.34, 3.36 |
| Fri, Oct 10 | Refrigerators | Read 4.2 RA #14 |
| Wed, Oct 15 | Thermodynamic Potentials | Read 5.1 up to the problems on page 155. RA #15 |
| Fri, Oct 17 | Thermodynamic Identities, Forces towards Equilibrium | Read the remainder of 5.1 and 5.2.
RA #16 HW #7 due: 4.1, 4.3, 4.6, 4.9, 4.14, 5.2, 5.4, 5.6 |
| Mon, Oct 20 | Thermodynamic Potentials | No new reading |
| Wed, Oct 22 | Review | Go through HW and solutions before class |
| Fri, Oct 24 | Exam 2 |
Date: |
Topics: |
Assignments Due: |
| Mon, Oct 27 | Phase Transitions | Read 5.3. No reading assignment to hand in. |
| Wed, Oct 29 | van der Waals Equation | Read 5.3. No reading assignment to hand in. |
| Fri, Oct 31 | Boltzmann Factor | Read 6.1. RA #17 HW #8 due: 5.26, 5.29, 5.35, 5.36, 5.48 |
| Mon, Nov 3 | Canonical Ensemble Averages | Read 6.2. RA #18 |
| Wed, Nov 5 | Equipartition Theorem | Read 6.3. HW #9 due: 6.1, 6.5, 6.12, 6.17, 6.18, 6.20 |
| Fri, Nov 7 | Maxwell Distribution | Read 6.4. RA #19 |
| Mon, Nov 10 | Partition Function, Free Energy, and Mean-Field Theory | Read 6.5 and 8.2 up to page 345, but skip the section on the exact solution in one dimension. RA #20 |
| Wed, Nov 12 | Composite Systems and the Ideal Gas | Read 6.6 and 6.7 HW #10 due: 6.26, 6.31, 6.34, 6.39, 8.19, 8.24 |
| Fri, Nov 14 | Ideal Gas and Gibbs Factor | Read 7.1 |
| Mon, Nov 17 | Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Quantum Statistics | Read 7.1, 7.2 through page 265. RA #21 |
| Wed, Nov 19 | Quantum Statistics | Read 7.2. RA #22 HW #11 due: 6.42, 6.44, 6.47, 6.52, 7.6, 7.8, 7.10 |
| Fri, Nov 21 | Fermi Gases, part I | Read 7.3 through page 278. |
| Mon, Nov 24 | Fermi Gases, part II | Read remainder of 7.3. RA #23 |
| Mon, Dec 1 | Blackbody Radiation, part I | Read 7.4 through page 296. No reading assignment to hand in. HW #12 due Tuesday, 4:00 PM: 7.16, 7.17, 7.20, 7.23 (skip part a - beware this is a long problem), 7.25, 7.28 (a,b) |
| Wed, Dec 3 | Blackbody Radiation, part II | Read the remainder of 7.4. |
| Fri, Dec 5 | Exam 3 | |
| Mon, Dec 8 | Bose-Einstein condensation | Read 7.6. RA #24 HW #13 due Tuesday, 4:00 PM: 7.38, 7.43, 7.44 (use eq 7.89 for part b) |
Ben Vollmayr-Lee, bvollmay@bucknell.edu