Physics 335 Thermal Physics Spring (12) 2007
Instructor: Mark Taylor Office: Gerstacker 118
Phone: 569-5241
email: taylormp
Office Hours: MWF 4:15-6:00, T 1:00-4:00, Th 9:00-12:00, 2:00-4:00, Sun. 3:00-6:00
Physics Study Session: Thurs. evenings 6:00-9:00 in Gerstacker 123
Meeting Times: MWF 9:30-11:50; Gerstacker 10
Textbook: "Thermal Physics" by Ralph Baierlein
Course Overview: Thermal or statistical physics provides the link
between the microscopic world of atoms and molecules and the macroscopic world
of everyday objects. This subject
tackles such foundational issues as 1) the origin of irreversible processes
from the time symmetric fundamental laws of physics and 2) the emergence of
simple thermodynamic behavior in systems comprised of a large number of
particles governed by an underlying chaotic dynamics. We will address these issues by examining the microscopic
origins of the laws of thermodynamics.
Since macroscopic systems are composed of an enormous number of
particles, an exact description of each individual particle is impractical (if
not impossible). Thus, we make use
of probabilistic or statistical methods.
While such an approach may appear to be approximate, in fact,
statistical mechanics is a rigorous and exact theory of macroscopic
matter. This course will cover the
fundamentals of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and elementary transport
theory. Since computer simulations
play an important role in contemporary statistical mechanics research, we will
also study the Monte Carlo method and everyone will carry out a computational
project to investigate a magnetic, liquid, polymer, or other many-body system.
Links to pdf files:
Course Information Sheet Syllabus Monte_Carlo_Projects
MatLab Code: Handouts:
ising1.m Transport_Coefficients