Physics 427: Thermal and Statistical Physics, Spring 2012
Instructor : Yann Chemla
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Announcements
Final exam grades have now been entered in the gradebook. Median raw score: 93/130 (72%), and mean raw score: 89/130 (68%). Exam statistics have now been posted. Final exams can be viewed by appointment.
Graded PS #11 and 12 are in Prof. Chemla's office and available for pickup.
The final exam will be Tuesday May 8, 7-10pm in room 144 Loomis. Again, you are allowed one 8.5" x 11" formula sheet (both sides) and a calculator. The final will cover material from the ENTIRE SEMESTER. Material NOT COVERED in the final includes: the Sommerfeld expansion, magneto-optical traps, Landau theory, and the Boltzmann transport equation.
Prof. Chemla will hold extra office hours every weekday 1-2pm until the day of the exam.
The final review & extra practice problems from past final exams are posted in the "Homework, Solutions, & Lecture notes" web area. Problems may not be representative of this semester's final exam.
As announced in class, an error was discovered in the solution to PS #5, problem 4. A corrected solution has now been posted. You may request a regrade for this problem by putting your PS #5 in the course mailbox with a note to the grader.
Midterm exam 2 solutions are now posted in the "Homework, Solutions, & Lecture notes" web area.
Midterm exam 2 will be in class, Tuesday, Apr. 3, 3:30-5pm. Again, you are allowed one 8.5" x 11" formula sheet (both sides) and a calculator. The midterm will cover Lectures 8-16 and PS #4-8 (the Sommerfeld expansion & magneto-optical traps WILL NOT BE ON THE MIDTERM)
Midterm exam 1 solutions are now posted in the "Homework, Solutions, & Lecture notes" web area
Midterm exam 1 will be in class, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 3:30-5pm. You are allowed one 8.5" x 11" formula sheet (both sides) and a calculator. The midterm will cover Lectures 1-7 and PS #1-4.
By popular request, here is the derivation for the hypersphere volume from Lecture 4.
Tentative Schedule
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Week |
Date |
Lecture topics |
Reading |
Problem sets |
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1 |
Jan
17
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K&K Ch. 1 & 2 |
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| Jan 19 |
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2 |
Jan 24 |
K&K Ch. 2 & Appendix E |
PS #1
Due Jan 26
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Jan 26 |
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3 |
Jan 31 |
K&K Ch. 3 |
PS #2
Due Feb 2
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Feb 2 |
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4 |
Feb 7 |
K&K Ch. 3 & 4 |
PS #3
Due Feb 9
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Feb 9 |
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5 |
Feb 14 |
K&K Ch. 4 & Greenhouse Supplement |
PS #4
Due Feb 16
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Feb 16 |
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6 |
Feb 21 |
First exam |
K&K Ch. 4 |
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Feb 23 |
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7 |
Feb 28 |
K&K Ch. 5 & 6 |
PS #5
Due Mar 1
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Mar 1 |
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8 |
Mar 6 |
K&K Ch. 6 & 7 Fermi gas |
PS #6
Due Mar 8
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Mar 8 |
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9 |
Mar 13 |
K&K Ch. 7 Bose gas & 8 |
PS #7
Due Mar 15
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Mar 15 |
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10 |
Mar 20 |
Spring break |
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Mar 22 |
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11 |
Mar 27 |
K&K Ch. 9 |
Due Mar 29 |
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Mar 29 |
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12 |
Apr 3 |
Second exam |
K&K Ch. 10 |
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Apr 5 |
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13 |
Apr 10 |
K&K Ch. 10 |
Due Apr 12 |
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Apr 12 |
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14 |
Apr 17 |
K&K Ch. 10 & 12 |
PS #10
Due Apr 19 |
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Apr 19 |
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15 |
Apr
24
Apr 26
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K&K Ch. 14 & 15 |
PS #11
Due Apr 26
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16 |
May 1 |
Review |
PS #12
Due May 3
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May 3 |
No class |
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15 |
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Final Exam
May 8, 7-10pm
144 Loomis
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Homework, Solutions, & Lecture notes
Personnel
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Instructor |
Yann Chemla |
161 Loomis |
ychemla@illinois.edu |
333-6501 |
Thurs. 1-2pm, 161 Loomis |
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Grader |
Hong-Yan Shih |
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hshih7@illinois.edu |
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Wed. 5-6pm, 279 Loomis |
Objectives
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.
Course Structure
Class meets Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 – 4:50 PM. 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. Moreover, questions asked in class are often revealing and informative and can’t be captured by relying solely on the Web.
Lectures : Two 2-hour lectures per week in 144 Loomis: Tuesday & Thursday from 3:30 – 4:50 PM
Problem sets :
Problem sets will come approximately every week and will be due Thursday by 6:00 PM in the course mailbox. Assignments
handed in 1 day late will be graded down 10%, 2 days late 40%, 3 days late 70%,
followed by no credit after that point.
Solutions will be available online after the due date.
Exams
Midterm exams:
Tuesday, February 21, 3:30 – 4:50 PM, 144 Loomis
Tuesday, April 3, 3:30 – 4:50 PM, 144 Loomis
Final exam: Tuesday, May 8, 7 – 10 PM, room to be announced
Course Materials
Textbook , Thermal Physics by Charles Kittel and Herbert Kroemer, 2nd edition (W. H. Freeman and Company) There are many, many books on statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. I think this text offers many insights that are absent in more formal mathematical treatments. But, many of you may find other texts more to your taste. Some of the standards are included in the References below.
Course grades will be determined according to the
following weights.
Class Participation |
10 % |
Problem sets |
30 % |
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Midterm Exams |
30 % |
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Final Exam |
30 % |
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Daniel V. Schroeder |
An Introduction to Thermal Physics |
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F. Reif |
Statistical and Thermal Physics |
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R. K. Pathria |
Statistical Mechanics |
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L. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz |
Statistical Physics |
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R.P. Feynmann |
Statistical Mechanics |
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Feynman, Leighton and Sands |
The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. 1 |
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A.B. Pippard |
The Elements of Classical Thermodynamics |
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