Welcome

 to  Physics  181:  Statistical  Mechanics  and  Thermodynamics  

Course  aims  and  structure    
This  course  develops  the  ideas  and  tools  of  statistical  and  thermal  physics,  which  are  now  
central  to  all  fields  of  physics,  as  well  as  to  information  theory,  chemistry  and  biology.  In  
preparation  for  each  lecture  students  will  be  given  a  reading  assignment  or  will  carry  out  
simple  experiments  (mostly  on  a  computer,  more  rarely  in  the  kitchen  sink).    In  the  lecture  
we  will  reinforce  the  knowledge  you  gained  through  this  preparation,  will  deepen  your  
understanding,  and  will  guide  you  through  implementing  this  knowledge  by  worked  
examples  and  inspiring  problem  sets.  

Lectures  and  Sections  

We  will  have  three  lectures  and  one  section  a  week.    
Lectures  are  MWF  11am  Jefferson  356  
Sections  are  MT  2:30-­‐4pm  or  7-­‐8:30pm  Jefferson  256.  

Texts  and  suggested  books  

The  two  main  textbooks  for  this  course  are:  
• An  Introduction  to  Thermal  Physics  by  Schroeder  [if  you  feel  like  buying  a  book  for  
this  course,  this  is  the  one  to  buy].  
• Thermal  and  Statistical  Physics  by  Gould,  freely  available  online,  at  
http://stp.clarku.edu/notes/
During  of  each  lecture  we  will  let  you  know  what  sections  in  these  books  were  covered.  This  
will  also  be  available  in  the  course  website  before  the  lecture.  
 
There  are  literally  tens  of  textbooks  in  statistical  mechanics,  and  many  offer  unique  
strengths  or  points  of  view.  Some  suggested  reading  include:    
• Fundamentals  of  Statistical  and  Thermal  Physics  by  Reif    
• Statistical  Physics  by  Amit  and  Verbin    
• Statistical  Mechanics:  Entropy,  Order  Parameters,  and  Complexity  by  Sethna,  
available  at  http://pages.physics.cornell.edu/sethna/StatMech/  
• An  introduction  to  thermodynamics  and  statistical  mechanics  by  Stowe  

Problem  sets  
Problem  sets  will  be  handed  out  on  Friday  in  class  and  will  be  due  the  following  Friday.  
They  are  intended  mostly  to  help  you  absorb  the  material  and  prepare  for  class.  You  are  
encouraged  to  discuss  it  with  other  students  or  work  in  study  groups.    However,  the  work  
that  is  turned  in  must  be  your  own.  
Preparation  assignments  should  be  submitted  along  with  the  problem  set  of  the  same  week.  
These  will  only  be  marked  “completed”  or  not.  You  will  get  one  credit  point  for  each  
completed  assignment.  Credit  points  will  go  toward  your  final  exam  grade.  

Grading  
Homework  (~  1  set/week)  30%    
Midterm  (covers  1st  half  of  the  course)  25%    
Final  (covers  all  the  material  of  the  course,  with  emphasis  on  topics  not  covered  in  the  
midterm)  45%  
To  qualify  for  the  final  exam  you  must  submit  all  problem  sets  but  one,  and  acquire  at  least  
8  credit  points  from  the  prep  assignments.  
Tentative  schedule  
Topic 1 Introduction: Macroscopic and microscopic behaviors
Modern history: how Statistical physics came to be essential for modern physics,
chemistry, biology, and information science. Macroscopic observations that lead to
microscopic discoveries, microscopic interactions that lead to macroscopic behaviors.
Topic 2 Concepts of Thermodynamics
Equilibrium; Energy, heat and work; first law of thermodynamics.
Topic 3 Concepts of Probability
The rules of probability, random variables, probability distributions, the central limit
theorem, Gaussian integrals, Stirling’s approximation, random walks
Topic 4 The toolbox of Statistical Mechanics
Microstates, statistical ensembles, definitions for temperature, entropy and disorder,
entropy and information, second law of thermodynamics
Topic 5 Magnetic systems: paramagnetism and ferromagnetism
The two-state system, Curie’s law, Magnetic susceptibility, the Ising model in 1D.
Topic 6 Classical ideal gases
Classical ideal gas, Maxwell’s speed distribution, the equipartition theorm
Topic 7 Quantum gases
Bose and Fermi statistics, the equation of state
Topic 8 Photons
The ultraviolet catastrophe and Planck distribution, photons, the Cosmic background
radiation
Topic 9 Debye theory of solids, Bose-Einstein Condensation
Heat capacity in a crystalline solid, BEC, superfluidity
Optional Topic A Chemical potentials and phase equilibria
Chemical potentials, mixtures. Solvation, fixation, ionization. Reactions and mass-
action. Stable and metastable phases, Maxwell construction.
Optional Topic B Critical phenomena
Order parameter. Critical phenomena, ergodicity and symmetry breaking. No phase
transition in 1D. Ising Model in 2D, Mean-field theory.
Optional Topic C Applications
Applications in information, economics, Biology and astrophysics.