Statistical Physics

Problem Set #2
Due: April 15
1. Consider a gaseous system of N noninteracting, diatomic molecules, each hav-
ing an electric dipole moment µ, placed in an external electric field of strength
E. The energy of such a molecule will be given by the kinetic energy of rotation
as well as translation plus the potential energy of orientation in the applied field,

p2 p2φ
 2 
pθ
ε= + + − µE cos θ,
2m 2I 2I sin2 θ

where I is the moment of inertia of the molecule. Find the average electric
polarization and the dielectric constant. Assume the system is a classical system
and |µE|  kT .

2. The nuclei of atoms of a crystalline solid have spin-1 and are non-interacting
with three possible spin states |+i, |0i, |−i. In the presence of an ellipsoidal
electric charge distribution, each nuclei obtain the following energies E± =
, E0 = 0.

(a) Consider a single nucleus in a “bath” of nuclei with fixed temperature T .

Calculate the probabilities P0 , P± of the three spin states.
(b) Compute the mean energy of a single nucleus.
(c) Consider a lattice of N such nuclei. Calculate the mean energy EN , and
entropy S of the system. Find the value of S in the limit of kT   and
kT  .

3. A surface with N0 adsorption centers has N (≤ N0 ) gas molecules adsorbed on

it. Assume a(T ) is the partition function of a single adsorbed molecule, find the
chemical potential of the adsorbed molecules.

4. Show that the Clausius–Clapeyron equation guarantees that each of the coexis-
tence curves at the triple point of a material “points into” the third phase; for
example, the slope of the solid-vapor coexistence line has a value in-between
the slopes of the the the solid-liquid and liquid-vapor coexistence lines.