Topics Included: Entropy and quantum mechanics; canonical Gibbs probability; ideal gas; thermal radiation; Einstein and Debye lattices; grand canonical Gibbs probability; ideal Fermi and Bose gases; chemical reactions and phase transformations. Reading assignments are from Allen Wasserman's book.

See syllabus for Winter 2010

See course schedule for Winter 2010

Not yet

This link leads to a set of diagnostic questions used to gauge the class. They were given the day before the topic was dicsussed in class. Used mainly in weeks one and two, review weeks.

Diagnostic questions

Note that there are many more possible in class problems than can be done. It just gives a selection.

Week 1: Review Thermodynamics, read chapter 1, 4, 5

Week 2: Review Statistical Mechanics, read chapter 2, 3, 6, 7

Week 3: Ideal gas, read chapter 8

Week 4: Two level systems, read chapter 9

Week 5: Heat capacity of solids, read chapter 10

Midterm

Week 6: Magnetism, read chapter 12

Week 7: Open systems, read chapter 13

Week 8: Chemical potential, read chapter 14

Week 9: Black Body Radiation, read chapter 15

Week 10: Fermi systems, read chaper 16

• All activities for Statistical Mechanics
• All small whiteboard questions for Statistical Mechanics
  (What are SWBQs?)