Spring 2007

Course Title: Physics 404: Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics

Instructor: Prof. Ted Einstein

Office: Physics Bldg., Room 2310; Phone: 301-405-6147

e-mail: einstein@umd.edu

Office hours: After class on Tuesdays, 3:15-4:00 on Thursdays (but not 1/25), by arrangement (email or phone), and to be announced.

Course Description: Physics 404 (formerly PHYS 414) is an introductory course on thermodynamics, statistical mechanics and kinetic theory. It is designed for physics majors but also suitable for advanced undergraduate students in astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering and space sciences. 3 Credits

Time & Place: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12:30-1:50 p.m., room 1402, Physics Bldg.

Teaching Assistant/Grader: Yigit Subasi

Office: Physics Bldg., Room 3101; Phone: 301-405-6194

e-mail: ysubasi@umd.edu

Office hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays 11:00-12:00 and by arrangement (email or phone)

Text: Primary: Daniel V. Schroeder, Thermal Physics (Addison Wesley Longman, 2000) [0-201-38027-7], supplemented by Harvey Gould and Jan Tobochnik, Thermal and Statistical Physics, chaps. 1-7, From this link, you can view the chapters one by one. In the class password-protected solutions site, I have posted all 7 chapters as a single pdf file.

Other strongly recommended books:

Ralph Baierlein, Thermal Physics, (Cambridge University Press, 2000, pb) [0 -521-65838-1]

C. Kittel and H. Kroemer, Thermal Physics, 2nd Edition (Freeman, San Francisco, 1980) [0-7167-1088-9], unpopular but used as course text by many other teachers of this course

M. D. Sturge, Statistical and Thermal Physics (A K Peters, 2003) [156881196-1], lots of typos

Reviews of Schroeder, Baierlein, and Reichl (advanced text) in Am. J. Phys. 1999 (accessible from umd.edu sites)

Schroeder, including flattering reviews, at amazon.com

There are many other texts. You should browse around and find the ones that appeal to you. Here are comments by Cowley at Rutgers, by Styer at Oberlin . You should also make regular use of the web resources on the weblist class site.

A new text, not on these lists, is D. Yoshioka, Statistical Physics: An Introduction (Springer, 2005); it is somewhat more advanced but provides a succinct discussion with more depth than the course text.

Homework: There will be homework assignments about weekly (every 2-3 lectures). They are a very important part of the course; to master the material generally requires doing problems conscientiously. But homework is not a take-home test: Students are encouraged to discuss the problems with each other after thinking about them alone, and to explore the physics behind the problems. However, each student should write answers individually and be thoroughly in command of the underlying physics. Solutions will be posted on the next lecture day ("deadline date") after the due date. Thereafter, no late problem sets can be accepted for credit.

Grading: The course grade will be based primarily on total points, with the following weighting:

2 midterm tests ~20% each

Final exam ~30%

Homework ~30%

The only acceptable excuses for missing a test are those established by the university: religious holiday [which I have avoided, to the best of my knowledge], illness, or an official university event. You will need a written note on official stationery to establish your excuse. The mid-term tests will be during class time on March 6 and April 12. The Schedule of Classes lists the final as taking place on Thursday, May 17, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. .

Schedule

We will follow Schroeder but supplement from Gould and Tobochnik. You should read the listed sections from Schroeder before class to get the most out of the lectures. Read through all of the problems, in addition to the text. The assignments from Schroeder are mandatory. The readings from Gould & Tobochnik should increase your understanding of the material, but the presentation does not neatly map to that by Schroeder.

Last updated May 4, 2007