THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS
SPRING 2008 - COURSE OUTLINE FOR PHYU305

http://nuweb2.neu.edu/ttaylor/therm.html

 Professor Tomasz Taylor

Office: 208 DANA               E-mail: taylor@neu.edu               Telephone: 617-373-2979

Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 11:45 to 1:00, and by appointment (e-mail)

Textbook: "An Introduction to Thermal Physics" by Daniel V. Schroeder (Addison Wesley Longman, 2000) and "Thermodynamics" by Enrico Fermi (Dover Publications, 1956). Other useful, but not required, textbooks include "Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory and Statistical Thermodynamics" by Francis W. Sears and Gerhard L. Salinger, 3^rd edition, (Addison Wesley, 1986).

Topics to be covered (week by week):

Week 1:  Thermodynamic Systems and Equations of State (S. chapter 1.1; F. chapter I)
Week 2:  Ideal Gas and its Microscopic Model (S. chapters 1.2-3)
Week 3:  MLK Day on Monday, January 21 and
               Energy, Heat, Work and the First Law of  Thermodynamics (S. chapters 1.4-6; F. chapter II)
Week 4:  Some Consequences of the First Law and Rates of Processes (F. chapter II; S. chapter 1.7)
Week 5:  Microstates, Macrostates and Interacting Systems (S. chapters 2.1-5)   
Week 6:  Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics (S. chapter 2.6; F. chapters III, IV)
Week 7:  Presidents' Day on Monday, February 18 and
               Midterm Exam on Wednesday, February 20 and
               Interactions and Implications (S. chapter 3.1)
Week 8:  Entropy, Heat, Mechanical Equilibrium and Chemical Potential (S. chapter 3.2, 3.4 and 3.5)
             SPRING BREAK WEEK
Week 9:  Heat Engines, Free Energy and Chemical Thermodynamics Part I (S. chapters 4.1-3 and 5.1-2; F. chapters VI, VII)
Week 10: Free Energy and Chemical Thermodynamics Part II (S. chapters 5.3-6; F. chapters V, VI, VII)
Week 11: The Boltzman Factor and Partition Function (S. chapters 6.1-2)
Week 12: Boltzman Statistics (S. chapters 6.3-6)
Week 13: Quantum Statistics (S. Chapters 6.7 and 7.1-3)
Week 14: Review

Grade: Midterm Exam (February 20) - 25%, Final Exam - 35%. The other 40% of the grade is determined from the average score on Monday quizzes which are based on one of the assigned homework problems (to be posted on the website on each Monday or Wednesday).