PHYS 427 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Course Description

The aim of statistical mechanics is to explain the aggregate behavior of systems with many degrees of freedom.  Examples include gases, collections of  spins, atoms in a laser trap, electrons in metals, semiconductors, vibrations in solids, photons in a box, chemical reactions, refrigerators and electrical noise.    This is a subject in which an enormous range of physical phenomena can understood with relatively simple mathematics.  But, while the mathematics will remain simple, the concepts are not always so.  This is particularly true of thermodynamics, the study of heat and work.   The first part of the course will emphasize statistical mechanics and simple systems that may be worked out analytically.  We will then move on to thermodynamics, which permits one to infer general properties of more complex systems.  The course will end with an introduction to interacting systems including mean field magnetism and superconductivity.

Prerequisite

Two 300-level physics courses or consent of the instructor.

Textbook

Thermal Physics, C. Kittel and H. Kroemer

Notes

Please check the course website each day for announcements, assignments, solutions and class notes. Although I will post lecture notes, I consider class attendance extremely important. This is not a course in “distance learning” and I may depart from both lecture notes and the text.  

Homework

Homework will be assigned on Wednesday and will be due the following Thursday at 5pm.  Assignments will be returned with the solutions one week after that.   Please deposit assignments in the PHYS427 mailbox in the Loomis-MRL interpass.  Late assignments will be marked down 20% for each day beyond the due date.  The homework sets must be clearly written.  

Exams

There will be two in-class midterm exams (Sept. 28 and Nov. 7) and a final exam (date TBA)  

Grading

Course Component Percentage of Grade
Class participation* 10
Discussion* 10
Problem sets 20
Midterm exams 30
Final exam 30

*The lowest 2 class participation scores and lowest discussion score will be dropped in calculating final grades

 

General Information

There are also other excellent texts available that offer different perspectives.  The books on reserve in the library are listed below, with some comments I hope you find useful.