Statistical Physics (StP | SPA6403)

Please consult QMPlus for the authoritative information on this module.

This course has its own web page.

Year: 3 | Semester: B | Level: 6 | Credits: 15

Prerequisites: PHY-214 and PHY-215 or equivalent introductory courses in thermal and quantum physics
Lectures: 33 | Lec: 311 312 512 Ex: 414 415 416 (notation)
Exam: 2.5 hour written paper (75%), coursework (25%)
Practical work: none | Ancillary teaching: weekly exercises, exercise classes

Course organiser: Dr Rodolfo Russo | Course deputy: Dr Costis Papageorgakis

Synopsis:

Starting from the atomic and quantum descriptions of matter the course uses statistical principles to explain the behaviour of material in bulk. It thus relates microscopic to macroscopic quantities and provides a microscopic explanation of thermodynamics. It provides the bridge between microscopic quantum physics and the behaviour of matter as we know it daily.

Aims:

This course contains 'core' material which must be appreciated by any physicist. The aim of the course is to teach the theoretical basis of Statistical Physics and to show how it provides the crucial link between the microscopic quantum world and the behaviour of macroscopic material which is amenable to experiment. Concepts and methods appropriate for the description of systems containing very many distinguishable or indistinguishable particles will be presented and the distinction of dealing with systems of closely or widely-spaced quantum levels. Exercise classes will allow the student to practice the difficult concepts and techniques learnt to concrete examples. It is an aim to teach the transferable skill of using spreadsheets to calculate and visualise complex algorithmic expressions.

Outcomes:

By the end of the course successful students are expected to be able to: utilise the terms and basic methods of Statistical Physics; derive expressions for the variation of various properties of macroscopic amounts of material; appreciate the different statistics arising from distinguishable and indistinguishable particles and relate these to the behaviour of solids and gases; calculate and manipulate Partition Functions and to derive Thermodynamic state functions analytically in some specific cases; analyse the distinction between Fermi-Dirac, Bose-Einstein and Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics, and the origin of these differences; summarise non-classical behaviours such as Electron Degeneracy pressure and Bose-Einstein Condensation; utilise small group tutorials to display and augment their knowledge; use "Excel" or similar application to calculate and plot the behaviour of a complex physical system.

Recommended books:

Bowley, R. & Sanchez, M.
Introductory Statistical Mechanics
OUP, (1999)
ISBN 0-19-850576-0
[essential]

Guenault, A.M.
Statistical Physics (Physics and Its Applications)
Kluwer Academic Publishers, (2nd edition. 1995)
ISBN 0-412-57920-0

Dugdale, J.S.
Entropy and its Physical Meaning
Taylor &Francis, (1996)
ISBN 0-7484-0569-0
[good on basics]

Baierlein, R.
Thermal Physics
CUP, (1999)
ISBN 0-521-65838-1