PHY
4523 -- Statistical Physics
Tentative
Syllabus (Version of 9 January 2002)
Spring
2002 for 3 credits
http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~meisel/statmech.htm
Instructor:
Mark
W. Meisel, Department of Physics, University of Florida
Best
Place to Find Me: NPB B133, Tel: 2-9147, Fax: 2-7709
Alternative
Place to Find Me: NPB 2358, Tel: 2-8867
Email:
meisel@phys.ufl.edu
Office
Hours: W F 9th period (16:05 - 16:55) and by appointment.
Prerequisite:
PHY
3513 or similar or permission of the Instructor.
Meeting
Times:
M W F 8th period (15:00 – 15:50
hrs) in NPB 1011.
Students are expected to attend
the lecture sessions.
Textbook:
R.
Bowley and M. Sanchez, “Introductory Statistical Mechanics (2nd Edition)”,
(Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1999).
Grading:
During
the course, there will be nominally 9, 5-point quizzes, normally 10 minutes
in length and usually on Friday at the end of the class period. The
8 best quiz scores will be used for computing the final grade. There
will also be three, 40-point, 50-minutes mid-term examinations. The
mid-term examinations will be given in class. At the end of the course,
there will be one, 80-point two-hour final examination. The grade
at the end of the semester will be based upon the summation of all possible
points. In other words, the total number of available points is 240.
No make-up quizzes or examinations are scheduled. Attendance at all
quizzes and examinations is definitely expected.
Posting:
Materials
and information concerning the course will be posted on the Course Webpage,
see http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~meisel/thermo.htm.
Subject
and Focus of the Course:
This
course is a basic course covering “statistical physics”, which is generally
taken to mean the microscopic approach of the subject. Consequently,
it is an extension of “macroscopic’ thermodynamics. Since the microscopic
approach will be taken, then the quantum mechanical nature of the particles
will be an issue. Although the courses on undergraduate quantum mechanics
are not required, most students find it useful to have taken the first
semester of quantum mechanics before taking this course. The course
will begin with a quick review of “macroscopic” thermal physics, and then
kinetic theory and statistical mechanics will be discussed providing and
introduction for more advanced work on Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein,
and Fermi-Dirac statistics.
Students
entering this course have a wide variety of backgrounds. Although
quite a bit of material may seem redundant, do not be fooled or lulled
into a false sense of intellectual security. The course will attempt
to be self-contained and will lay the foundations of the mathematics necessary
for understanding the material. If you find this material boring,
please understand that its coverage is necessary for those students whose
background may not be as comprehensive as your own. If at any time
you are truly bored, please talk to the Instructor. He can make suitable
arrangements/adjustments or assign more sophisticated problems or projects
for your private consideration.
The course is constructed and aimed
for constant class participation. The instructor will assume that
you are reading the book and working the examples and relevant problems.
You are expected to maintain the pace of the course, and the quizzes and
examinations are designed to help guide you in this process. Cramming
before an examination will not work! Like a world-class athlete,
you must train your mind to think physics, and this training should be
performed EVERYDAY. Of course, you do not want to burn-out, but you
must train to think like a physicist everyday.
Attendance
in class is definitely expected since material outside the textbook may
be presented. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL MATERIAL COVERED IN THE
TEXT AND IN CLASS. ALL THIS MATERIAL IS RELEVANT FOR QUIZZES AND
EXAMINATIONS, unless otherwise stated.
The
ultimate goal of the course is for the students to learn more details about
thermodynamics and statistical mechanics and to be able to use the machinery
of mathematics to solve general problems associated with the subject.
Highly specialized problems are the subject of advanced courses in physics,
chemistry, and engineering. To realize this goal, the students will
not be allowed to use textbooks or notes for the quizzes or the examinations.
Any specialized details, formulas or physical constant values will be provided
as needed.
A
final word about successful completion of the course: there is no
secret. If you attend class (and participate), read the textbook,
and work the problems and examples, then you will learn the material.
When in doubt, WORK MORE PROBLEMS! If you exhaust all problems from
the textbook, see the instructor who will be happy to supply more.
Remember: this stuff should be fun! If in itself it is not
fun and challenging, then it should be some hoop that you are jumping so
you may proceed with some fun stuff. So, you should always stay motivated
to learn the material.
If
at any time there is a question in your mind about anything, please do
not hesitate to talk to the instructor. See him immediately before
or after class, if necessary, to set specific appointments.
Academic
Honesty:
Each
student is expected to generate graded work by an individual and original
effort. It is understood that some students benefit from "group study".
However, all quizzes, all mid-term examinations and the final examination
will be individual efforts, using only the materials authorized by the
Instructor.
Any
violation of this policy will be prosecuted to the full-extent possible
(usually a failing grade is given on the assignment). Please review
the University Policies on Academic Honesty.
Final
Exam:
Tuesday,
30 April, 17:30-19:30 hrs (Final Exam Group 30E)
Special
Notes about the Syllabus:
Please
note that the dates for all quizzes, examinations and chapter starts are
TENTATIVE. The schedule will be finalized during the course and will
be announced in class.
Other
potentially useful books:
Most
physics graduate programs assume incoming students have taken an advanced
undergraduate course on thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
The textbook for this course is a popular choice, and other texts that
are often used are:
F.
W. Sears and G. L. Salinger, “Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical
Thermodynamics (3rd Edition)”, (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1975).
F.
Reif, “Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics”, (McGraw-Hill,
Boston, 1965).
H.
B. Callen, “Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics (2nd
Edition)”, Wiley and Sons, 1985.
Although
the website has not been maintained recently, a rather comprehensive listing
of additional references at the undergraduate and graduate levels is given
at: http://stp.clarku.edu/