Physics 406

Winter, 2016
INSTRUCTOR
Name: R. Akhoury
Office: 3468 Randall Lab. of Physics
E-mail: akhoury@umich.edu
Phone: 763 9470
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10-11:30 am, and by appointment.
GRADER
Name: Deshpreet Bedi
Office: 2247 Randall
E-mail: dbedi@umich.edu
Office Hours:
BACKGROUND REQUIRED: Some knowledge of the fundamentals of
Hamiltonian dynamics as well as a good background in intermediate classical
mechanics is required. An understanding of elementary quantum mechanics
will be helpful.
REQUIRED TEXT: F. Reif, Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal
Physics.
COURSE OUTLINE:
1. Macroscopic and microscopic descriptions of physical systems. Measurement of missing information.

2. Phase space and some AD HOC quantum mechanics.

(For numbers 1 and 2 above, see Reif, pages 1-4 and 47-66. For a thorough treatment of information theory see Katz, Principles of Statistical
Mechanics.)
3. Interactions-Thermal and Mechanical.
4. Temperature and the first law of Thermodynamics.
5. Laws of Thermodynamics and thier microscopic basis.
(For numbers 3-5 see Reif, Chapters 2,3 and parts of 4.)
6. Mathematics of Thermodynamics. Partial derivatives and legendre transformations.
7. Maxwells relations and the derivative crusher algorithm.
(For numbers 6,7 see Reif, Chapters 4 and 5 upto page 173. Another
useful text here is Callen, Thermodynamics.)
8. Free expansion and the Joule-Thompson expansion.
9. Heat engines and refrigerators.
(For numbers 8 and 9 see Reif Chapter 5.)
10. The Canonical Ensemble
11. Classical ideal gas and the Gibbs paradox.
(For numbers 10 and 11 see Reif, Chapters 6 and 7 through section
7.3.)
12. The Equipartition theorem. Specific heats of Solids. Paramagnetism.
(For number 12 see Reif, sections 7.4-7.8.)
13. Maxwell velocity distribution and Effusion.
(Reif, sections 7.9-7.13.)
14. Equilibrium conditions and stability criteria.

15. Phase Transformations.

(For numbers 15 and 16 see Reif, sections 8.1-8.6. See also Callen.)
16. The chemical potential and chemical reactions.
(Reif, Chapter 8, sections 8.7-8.10.)
17. The Grand Canonical Ensemble: Maxwell-Boltzman, Bose-Einstein,
and Fermi-Dirac statistics.
18. Ideal gases: Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac cases.
(For numbers 17 and 18 See Reif, Chapter 9, sections 9.1-9.11.)
19. Black Body radiation.
20. Electrons in metal. Degenerate Fermi gas.
21. Bose-Einstein condensation and Debye model.
(For numbers 19-21 see Reif Chapter 9, sections 9.13-9.17; Chapter 10,
sections 10.1-10.2.)
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Callen, H.B. : Thermodynamics
Fermi, E. : Thermodynamics
Tolman, R.C. : Principles of Statistical Mechanics.
Kittel, C. : Elementary Statistical Physics.
Landau, L. D. and Lifshitz, E. M. : Statistical Physics.
EXAMS
There will be one mid-term and one final exam. The midterm accounts
for 30%, and the final, for 40% of the total grade. The rest ( 30% ) will be
based on home-work assignments. Home-work will be assigned every friday
and will be due the following friday. Solutions will be on reserve in the
Physics Library. Late Homework, i.e., those handed in after 5pm friday, will
not be graded.