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MIDSEM EXAM: PH2202, THERMAL PHYSICS, SPRING 2022

Instructor: Arindam Kundagrami
MARKS: 20, TIME: 1.5 HOURS, 28 February 2022. 03:00 PM
Submit in WeLearn portal within 10 minutes of the scheduled end of exam.

ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. THE WEIGHT OF THIS EXAM IS 10/100

(MARKS WILL BE RESCALED FROM 20 TO 10). IF RUNNING SHORT
IN TIME, ANSWER AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. PARTIAL MARKS WILL
BE AWARDED IF THE INSTRUCTOR FEELS THAT THE STUDENT HAS
UNDERSTOOD THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM, EVEN IF THEY CAN
NOT FIND THE EXACT ANSWER. WRITE EVERY STEP OF YOUR CAL-
CULATION. GOOD LUCK!

1. Imagine that a very thin separator divides two parts of a gas in a container. Create a
small hole in the separator. If the pressures are kept the same at the two parts, can gas flow
through the hole at any condition (you may change the other variables)? If no, argue why.
If yes, find the rate of flow as a function of known thermodynamic variables (mass, density,
pressure, temperature etc.). Will the flow be zero at any condition?
[3 Marks]

2. Imagine that there are two parallel layers with temperatures Ta and Tb respectively
separated by distance d within a gas, which remains at a sufficiently low pressure. Molecules
hitting a layer attain the temperature of the respective layer. Show that the energy trans-
ferred to the colder layer from the hotter layer for an unit area in unit time is equal to

πm
na c¯3a − nb c¯3b ,


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where na , nb are densities and ca , cb are velocities of molecules coming out of the two
planes respectively. How can you express the result in terms of Ta and Tb ?
[4 Marks]

3. Find the ratio of the number n1 of molecules of hydrogen whose speeds lie between
3000 and 3010 m/s to the number n2 of molecules whose speeds lie between 1500 and 1510
m/s. Hydrogen is at room temperature, 27◦ C.
 2

[2 Marks]

4. If αdt is the probability of a gas molecule making a collision in the time interval dt,
find (a) the probability of a molecule experiencing no collision in time interval t, and (b)
the mean time interval between successive collisions.
[2 Marks]

5. The intensity of a beam moving through an ideal gas decreases n-times over a distance
l. What is the mean free path of the molecules of the beam?
[2 marks]

6. What fraction of the molecules of a gas have x components of velocity between −c̄ to
+c̄, where c̄ is the average speed of molecules?
[3 marks]

7. A gas of molecules, each of mass m, is in thermal equilibrium at the absolute temper-

ature T . Denote the velocity of the molecule by c, its three cartesian components as cx , cy
and cz , and its speed by c. Find the mean values of a) c3z cx and b) c2 cy .
[Special credit will be given if the answers can be found without explicitly calculating the
integrals.]
[4 marks]

Formulae you may find useful (but may not require to use all of them):
1. The standard temperature = freezing point of water; standard pressure = weight per unit area of the column of 76 cm
of Hg on earth surface; molar volume of ideal gas at standard temperature and pressure = 22.4 litre.
2. Density of Hg = 13.6 gm/cc.
3. Maxwell’s velocity diistribution law:

 3/2
m
dnc = 4πn exp(−mc2 /2kB T )c2 dc
2πkB T
4. Z ∞
Γ(ν) = e−x xν−1 dx; ν>0
0
√ √
Γ(n) = (n − 1)!, Γ(n + 1/2) = (n − 1/2)(n − 3/2)...3/2.1/2. π, Γ(1/2) = π
R∞ 2
e−αy y ν dy = 1
Γ ν+1


5. 0 , ν > −1
2α(ν+1)/2 2
6. 1 eV = 1.6 × 10−19 J, h = 6.62 × 10−34 m2 .kg/s, c = 3 × 108 m/s, me = 9.11 × 10−31 kg, mp = 1.67 × 10−27 kg,
kB = 1.38 × 10−23 m2 kg s−2 K−1 .