PH31510 - THERMAL PHYSICS 2

Module Identifier

PH31510

Module Title

THERMAL PHYSICS 2

Academic Year

2005/2006

Co-ordinator

Dr Eleri Pryse

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Dr Martin C Wilding, Dr Sian A Jones

Pre-Requisite

Core Physics Modules at Levels 1 & 2

Course delivery

Lecture

20 lectures

Seminars / Tutorials

2 workshops

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	3 Hours end of semester examination for MPhys students. 2-hour examination for BSc students	80%
Semester Assessment	Course Work: 2 example sheets by semester week 5 and semester week 10	20%

Learning outcomes

After taking this module students should be able to:

describe such ideas as phase changes and chemical potential.
describe low 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 to investigate the properties of matter.

Content

THERMODYNAMICS

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
T Guenault Statistical Physics
P. Reidi Thermal Physics Oxford Scientific

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6