PHY 3010U – Statistical Mechanics

The course introduces students to the statistical behaviour of physical systems with large numbers of particles and degrees of freedom. This course shows how macroscopic thermodynamics can be explained by a statistical treatment of microscopic interactions, both classical and quantum. The course will introduce the dynamical basis of temperature, entropy, chemical potential and other thermodynamic quantities. Topics include: the kinetic theory of gases; statistical thermodynamics; classical and quantum statistics; Boltzmann and Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions; the classical statistical treatment of an ideal gas; the heat capacity of a diatomic gas; the heat capacity of a solid.
Formerly: Statistical Mechanics I
Credit hours: 3
Lecture hours: 3
Prerequisite(s): PHY 2030U, PHY 2050U or CHEM 2040U