Physics 362, States of Matter, Spring 2014
1
Physics 362
States of Matter
Spring, 2014 at Hope College
Instructor: Steve Remillard
Office: VanderWerf 205
Phone: 395-7507
Office Hours: M,R 16:00-16:50; F 9:30-10:20
Email: remillard@hope.edu
Lecture: M,W,F 14:00-14:50
R 11:00-11:50
Prerequisite
Phys 270 Modern Physics, MATH 232 Multi II, PHYS 280 Math Phys. (co-req)
Overview of this Subject
States of Matter is concerned with the collective behavior of large ensembles of particles.
Whether the subject at hand is superfluid liquid helium, the free energy of a superconductor,
radiation pressure inside a collapsing star, cooling by adiabatic demagnetization, or the
macroscopic occupation of the ground state in a Bose-Einstein condensate, the principles in this
course are the gatekeeper to their exploration. Another name for this course could be
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. These two interwoven subjects are hard to separate.
For example, temperature is a measure of how stable the internal energy is against variations in
entropy, and entropy is arrived at statistically.
It is assumed that you have already studied and mastered fundamental thermodynamics.
This includes such pedestrian concerns as the first law of thermodynamics, as well as applications
of the ideal gas law to gas processes and cycles. It is assumed that you have already studied and
mastered quantum distributions, such as the Fermi-Dirac distribution. This includes the
elementary use of Fermi-Dirac statistics to determine how many of the states in the density of
states function are actually occupied.
You are now at a level where, hopefully to your delight, much deeper understanding is
possible. In more elementary courses you were asked to believe the ideal gas law. In this course
you will understand why PV sometimes equals nRT, and why often times it doesn’t. You were
perhaps told once that rate constants increase with temperature. In your textbook, you will find
the derivation of the van’t Hoff equation which ensures that this is so. In more elementary courses
you are told that radiation transfers heat at a rate that is quartic in the temperature. In this course
you will tear in to the statistical mechanics of photons, the machinery that provides us with this
piece of very useful common knowledge. I look forward to this semester with you. I hope that
you will conclude, as I did long ago, that States of Matter is the right of passage to becoming a
physicist.
Text for this course
Concepts in Thermal Physics, 2nd Ed. by Stephen J. Blundell and Katherine M. Blundell (Oxford
University Press. 2010), ISBN 978-0-19-956210-7
Why I chose this book: My choice is predicated on the extremely clear explanations, and also on
the several topical chapters near the end, all of this presented in bite-sized chapters which break
the monotony. The end-of-chapter problems are sparse, and many are trivial, so I have added
problems that I would like to see in the book.
Rev 1
Physics 362, States of Matter, Spring 2014
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Another useful text at this level
An Introduction to Thermal Physics, by Daniel V. Schroeder (Addison Wesley Longman, 2000),
ISBN 0-201-38027-7
Course Evaluation
Two tests (20% each)
One cumulative final exam
Homework
40%
30%
30%
Grading System
93-100%=A, 90-93%=A–, 87-90%=B+, 83-87%=B, 80-83%=B–, 77-80%=C+, 73-77%=C, 7073%=C–, 67-70%=D+, 60-67%=D, Below 60%=F
The Course Web Site:
The Moodle site for this course is the only place where homework assignments will be found.
Check there often. Do not print it out at the start of the semester assuming that all of the
assignments have been posted. Rather, check each week for that week’s work. There will also
be articles and useful downloads posted there, as well as some homework solutions.
Homework
o There will be one weekly assignment due every Friday at 5:00 pm. To
accommodate holidays and tests, some assignments may be due on a different day
than Friday. Consult the assignments page on the course web site.
o The readings listed in the syllabus need to be finished prior to the indicated class
date. This is the only way this course will work for you. Class time will build on
the reading – not replace it. Quizzes might be necessary to force this practice.
Tests & Exam
Two, 50 minute long tests. Closed note and closed book. One 8.5x11 cheat sheet allowed.
One, two hour long final exam. Open note and open book.
Disabilities
If you require accommodation for any kind of disability please contact me during the first week of
the semester. Several useful services are also available from the Office of Disability Services
(395-7805) and the Academic Support Center (395-7830).
Withdrawing
The deadline for withdrawing from this course or converting to P/F is March 12, 2014.
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Physics 362, States of Matter, Spring 2014
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Course Schedule. Changes will be announced.
Date
Topic
Overview of Heat and Thermostatistics
Jan 7
Introduction to thermostatistics
Jan 8
Heat
Jan 9
Misc math topics
Jan 12
Macrostates and Microstates
Jan 14
Applications of the Boltzmann distribution
The Kinetic Theory of Gases
Jan 15
The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution
Jan 16 No Class, CUWIP
Jan 19
Doppler broadening
Jan 21
The kinetic theory of pressure and molecular effusion
Jan 22
The kinetic theory of pressure and molecular effusion
Jan 23
Mean free path
The First Law of Thermodynamics
Jan 26
Heat transfer
Jan 28
Thermal diffusion in solids
Jan 29
The fundamental theorem of calculus: path independence
Jan 30
Thermal energy
Feb 2
Heat capacity
Feb 4
The equipartition theorem
Feb 5
Gas processes
Feb 6
Catch up or get ahead
Feb 9
Winter Break
The Second Law of Thermodynamics
Feb 11 Thermal cycles
Feb 12 Heat engines
Feb 13 Entropy
Feb 16 Entropy
Thermodynamic energy potentials
Feb 18 Thermodynamic potentials
Feb 19 Thermodynamic potentials and Maxwell relations
Feb 20 Paramagnetism and potentials
Feb 23 Catch-up or get ahead
The Development of Statistical mechanics
Feb 25 The partition function
Feb 26 TEST 1
Feb 27 The partition function
No Class - March Meeting (Mar 2 & Mar 4 might switch)
Mar 2
Mar 4
The statistical mechanics of ideal gases
Mar 5
The statistical mechanics of ideal gases
Mar 6
Relativistic effects
Mar 9
Catch up or get ahead
Rev 1
Reading
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4.1-4.6
Chapter 4.7
Chapter 5.1-5.2
Chapter 5.3
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9.2, Handout
Chapter 9.3-9.4
Appendix C.6-C.9
Chapter 11.1-2
Chapter 11.3
Chapter 19
Chapter 12
Chapter 13.1-13.5
Chapter 13.6-13.7
Chapter 14.1-5
Chapter 14.6-8
Chapter 16.1-5
Chapter 16.6-7
Chapter 17.3-4
Chapter 20.1-3
Chapters 1-19, not 10,15,18
Chapter 20.4
Chapter 21.1-4
Chapter 21.5-6
Chapter 25
Physics 362, States of Matter, Spring 2014
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The Chemical Potential
Mar 11 Adsorption and the chemical potential
Mar 12 The grand partition function
Mar 13 Spring Break
Mar 20 Spring Break
Mar 23 The grand potential; The grand canonical ensemble
Mar 25 The law of mass action; Osmosis
Non-ideal and Quantum Matter
Mar 26 The statistical mechanics of photons
Mar 27 Blackbody radiation
Mar 30 Phonons – The Einstein model
Apr 1
Phonons – The Debye model
Apr 2
The van der Waals gas
Apr 3
The Virial expansion
Apr 6
Cooling real gases
Apr 8
Throttling processes
Apr 9
Phase transitions
Apr 10 The Clausius-Clapeyron equation
Apr 13 Higher order phase transitions
Apr 15 Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distributions
Apr 16 Catch-up or get ahead
Apr 17 TEST 2
Apr 20 Fermi gases
Apr 22 Bose Einstein condensation
Apr 23 Nonequilibrium thermodynamics
Apr 24 Thermoelectricity
Apr 28 Exam, Tuesday at 12:30
Rev 1
Baierlein AmJPhys article
Chapter 22.1-3
Chapter 22.4
Chapter 22.5-9
Chapter 23.1-5; App C.1-4
Chapter 23.6-8
Chapter 24.1
Chapter 24.2-24.3
Chapter 26.1-2
Chapter 26.3-4
Chapter 27:1-2
Chapter 27:3-4
Chapter 28.1-3
Chapter 28.4-6
Chapter 28.7-8
Chapter 29
Chapters 20-29
Chapter 30.1-3
Chapter 30.4
Chapter 34.1-3
Chapter 34.4-5