Download Welcome to PHYS 406!

Welcome to PHYS 406!
Statistical and Thermal Physics
Instructor: Xiaoming Mao
Outline of the first class
• Overview: why thermal physics and stat mech
are interesting?
• Important questions we will answer in the
course
• The Syllabus
Overview
• What we have already learn?
– Mechanics: statics and dynamics of single-/few-body problems
– E&M: interactions between charged objects
– Quantum Mechanics: single-particle wave-functions in fields
• To summarize
– Single or few particle problems
– Fundamental laws are reversible in time
• Objects in our daily life and many more systems in
physics study: 1023 particles
• How to bridge the gap?
Can we just solve the same problem
for many particles?
• It is not possible
• There are better ways to do it
– Macroscopic (phenomenological) approach:
Thermodynamics
• Developed without knowledge of microscopic world
• Essential for the industrial revolutions
– Microscopic approach: Statistical Mechanics
• Explains the origin of irreversibility
Two important questions
• “What is the origin of irreversibility in nature?”
• “Which quantum phenomena are genuinely manybody physics?”
Irreversibility
Friction
Electric flow through resistor
Inelastic collision
Free expansion of gas
R
Mixing of two fluids
Spontaneous chemical reactions
An amusing example
• The Dog-Flea model (Ehrenfests)
irreversible
reversible
Relations between irreversible processes
Irreversible
Reversible
Equivalent
“No heat engine can have efficiency 𝜂 = 1”
Kelvin statement of the second law of thermodynamics.
Two important questions
• “What is the origin of irreversibility in nature?”
• “Which quantum phenomena are genuinely manybody physics?”
Quantum many-body phenomena I
Black-body Radiation: one of the founding experiments that led to the
discovery of quantum mechanics
Quantum many-body phenomena II
Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC)
Superfluidity
Superconductivity
Quantum many-body phenomena III
Insulators
Conductors
Quantum many-body phenomena IV
White dwarf star
Syllabus I (will be posted on CTools)
• Lecture notes will be posted on CTools after each class
(including today’s slides, and a detailed Syllabus)
• We will roughly follow the course-pack, but not everything
will be covered
• Additional optional textbooks
Equilibrium thermodynamics, Author: C.J. Adkins
Thermal physics, Author: Charles Kittel; Herbert Kroemer
An introduction to thermal physics, Author: Daniel V. Schroeder
Statistical and thermal physics: with computer applications, Author:
Harvey Gould and Jan Tobochnik
States of matter., Author: David L. Goodstein
Fundamentals of statistical and thermal physics, Author: F. Reif
Syllabus II
• Course work:
– Weekly problem sets (20%): posted online on Wed mornings and
due the succeeding Wed in class
– Final Exam (30%): 1:30-3:30pm, Monday, Dec 17
– Midterm Exams (20% each): week of Oct 8-12 & week of Nov 1216, afternoon. Let me know your schedule conflictions before
Sep 7.
– Class participation (10%):
• Class discussions
• Discussions on Piazza
Syllabus III
• Office hour:
Mondays 10-12am
2251 Randall
• Email: [email protected]
• Website for lecture notes, homeworks and
announcements: CTools
• Website for discussion on physics: Piazza (there is a link to
Piazza on our CTools page)
• Personal webpage:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~maox/index.html