PH31510 - THERMAL PHYSICS 2

Module Identifier	PH31510
Module Title	THERMAL PHYSICS 2
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	Dr Eleri Pryse
Semester	Semester 2
Other staff	Dr Sian A Jones
Pre-Requisite	Core Physics Modules at Levels 1 & 2
Course delivery	Lecture	20 lectures
	Seminars / Tutorials	2 workshops
Assessment	Semester Exam	3 Hours End of semester examinations for MPhys students. 2 hours for BSc students	80%
	Semester Assessment	Course Work: Example sheet 1 Deadline (by week of Semester): Week 5	10%
	Semester Assessment	Course Work: Example sheet 2 Deadline (by week of Semester): Week 10	10%

Learning outcomes

After taking this module students should be able to:

describe such ideas as phase changes and chemical potential.
describe llow temperature phenomena from a macroscopic and microscopic point of view.
explain the basic concepts of statistical mechanics and their application to investigate the properties of matter.

Brief description

This module aims to:
a) build on the introductory thermodynamics course, introducing such ideas as phase changes and chemical potential.
b) introduce phenomena that occur at low temperatures, and to explain these from both a macroscopic and a microscopic point of view.
c) introduce the concepts of statistical mechanics, and use these in particular to investigate the properties of matter.

Content

Reminder: Thermodynamic potentials, Maxwell relations, thermodynamic variables
First order phase changes: Gibbs function and Clausius-Clapeyron equation
Second and higher order phase changes
Ehrenfests classification, examples of different order
Adiabatic demagnetisation: attainment of very low temperatures
Chemical Potential and its applications to open systems
Third Law of thermodynamics: entropy near absolute zero
Negative temperatures and population inversion
Superconductivity
Superfluidity: properties of liquid helium
Statistical Mechanics
Assembly of distinguishable particles: Boltzmann distribution, Partition function, link to thermodynamic quantities, examples
Assembly of indistinguishable particles (gases): Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions, Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, examples

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
C. Finn. Thermal Physics. Chapman Hall
D.H. Trevana. Statistical Mechanics. Ellis Horwood
** Supplementary Text
A. Kent. Experimental Low-Temperature Physics. MacMillan
P. Reidi. Thermal Physics. Oxford Scientific