The Department of Physics & Astronomy BS The University of British Columbia STATISTICAL MECHANICS Physics 303 and 455 lectures by Birger Bergersen Department of Physics and Astronomy University of British Columbia ‘Telephone: (604) 822-2754 birger@physics.ube.ca Revised Aug 2001Contents 1. The historical origin of statistical mechanics 2 Probability distributions 2. Probabilities aud averages. . 22. ‘The Gaussian distributions and the random walk, . 23 Maxwell speed distribution 2A Outcome of coin tosses . . 25 School of hard knocks: lognormal distributions 2.6 Weibull distribution pees 27 Pareto tail . 28 Problem set 1 3 The information theoretic approach 3.1 Micro- and macro-states 32 A measure of uncertainty 3.2 The principle of least bins 34 Statistical definition of thermodynamic variables . 3.5 The weruth law of Uh wodynannics 4 Boltzmann statistics 4.1 Boltzmann factor 4.2. Partition function and the canonical distribution 43. Isothermal atmosphere 44 Helmholtz free energy 4.5 Quantum harmonic oscillator 4.6 Energy fluctuations in the canonical ensemble 47 Problem set2..... 8 Adeal gases ana generaiations Counting quantum states Black body radiation The classical ideal gas Gibbs-Duhem relation, and the Gibbs energy. ‘The grand canonical enseuble Langmuir adsorption isotherm Fermi Dirac distribution . a Free electron gas at zero temperature . aes e 10 15 16 19 an aL a 4 26 28 30 32 32 34 uM 35 36 3T 38 3 39 41 a4 46 49 50 515.9 Gravitational collapse of a star. . 5.10 Low temperature electronic specific heat 5.11 Problem set 3: 6 Kinetic theory 6.1 Drude model. . 62 Problem set 4 6.3 The Boltzmann Bquation: Fields drift and collisions 6A DC conductivity of a metal revisited 6.5 Thermal conductivity and thermoelectric effects 6.6 Problem set 5 7 Phonons 71 The harmonic chain + 72. Lattice vibrations in a solid 78 Phonons 7A Debye model 7.5 Problem sot 6 8 Phase (rausilions 8.1 Gibbs phase rule 82 ‘Magnetic’ models 8.3 Mean field theory for the Ising model 84 Solubility gaps 85. Self-consistent field method 8.6 Order disorder transition in a binary alloy 87 Critical Phenomena cece eens 9 Some old exam questions 9.1 April 1990 PHYS 455 Exam . 9.2 April 1991 PHYS 455 Exam - 93 April 1992 PHYS 455 Exam 94. April 1994 PHYS 455 exam - References a 56 58 39 59 63 64 67 69 a um 4 85 87 80 89 2 92 95 7 98 101 104 104 105 107 10 112