Thermal and Statistical Physics (PHYS 430)

Spring Semester (132)

 

Course Description:

Statistical Physics, developing both thermodynamics and statistical mechanics simultaneously. Concepts of temperature, laws of thermodynamics, entropy thermodynamics relations, free energy. Applications to phase equilibrium, multi-component systems, chemical reactions, and thermodynamics cycles. Applications of statistical mechanics to physical systems; introduction to treatment of Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics with applications. Computational aspects of free energy, entropy and magnetization for various classical and quantum distributions.

 

Instructor: Dr. Abdullah Al-Sunaidi

                (asunaidi@kfupm.edu.sa)

Office : Bldg. 6-146

Tel. 3-860-3752

Office Hours: 9.00-10.50 (Sun. Tue and Thur)

 

Textbook : Concepts in Thermal Physics by Blundell and Blundell, 2nd Edition, Oxford (2010).

Course syllabus

Weeks Material Assignments Due Date Notes
1 Review of Physics 102 Thermodynamics. Chapter 1 and 2 of the textbook will also be covered. HW1

2.3, 2.4, 2.5

3.5(d,e,g)

2.2.2014  
2 Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution and some of its applications HW2

4.3, 4.7(a), 4.9, 5.4, 5.7, 6.6

9.2.2014  
3 The First Law of Thermodynamics HW3

6.6, 11.2, 12.2, 12.5, 13. 7

25.2.2014  
4 The Second Law of Thermodynamics; Entropy (We will use Schroeder Book) HW-4   Exam 1
5 Thermodynamic Potentials and Some Thermodynamic Relations (derivatives) HW6

16.2, 16.3, 17.2, 17.3, 17.5. 17.7

13.3.2014  
6 The third law; equipartition of energy HW#5 21.4.2014  
7 Introducing the Partition Function     Exam 2
8 Statistical Mechanics of the Ideal Gas HW7

20.1, 20.3, 20.7,

1.4.2014  
9 The Chemical Potential and the Gibbs Free energy HW8

21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.2,22.3 22.5, 22.6(a)

10.4.2014  
10 Phase Transitions HW9

26.1, 26.4, 27.2, 27.3

17.4.2014  
11 Relativistic Gas     Exam 3
12 Blackbody Radiation      
13 Bose and Fermi Statistics      
14 Quantum Gases      
15 The Ising Model      
16   Final Exams Week    

 

 

 

Useful Links

                Statistical Mechanics Course at Clarks University

                Thermal Physics Demos

                More Demos