PH 220: STATISTICAL THERMODYNAMICS (8 credits)

1. Classical thermodynamics
1.1 Specification of state of a system
1.2 Equation of state
1.3 Thermodynamics processes
1.4 Reversible and irreversible process
1.5 Heat and work: Macrostates and microstates, microscopic interpretation of work, quasi-static
processes,
2. Laws of thermodynamics
2.1 Zeroth law
2.2 Exact and inexact differentials,
2.3 First law of thermodynamics
2.4 Consequence of the first law of thermodynamics
2.5 Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics
2.6 TdS equation
2.7 Heat engine and refrigerators
2.8 Third law of thermodynamics
2.9 Consequence of the third law
3. Thermodynamic potentials
3.1 Gibbs free energy
3.2 Helmholtz free energy
3.3 Gibbs-Helmholtz equation
3.4 Enthalpy
3.5 Maxwell’s relations
3.6 Application of the Gibbs function to phase transition.
4. Statistical thermodynamics
4.1 Coins tossing experiment
4.2 Assembly of distinguishable particles
4.3 Principle of equal a priori probabilities
4.4 Thermodynamics probability and entropy
5. Classical and Quantum Statistics
5.1 Boltzmann statistics
5.2 Boltzmann distribution
5.3 Fermi-Dirac distribution
5.4 Bose-Einstein distribution
5.5 Dilute gases and the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution
5.6 The connection between classical and statistical thermodynamics
6. The Classical statistic treatment of an ideal gas
6.1 Partition function
6.2 Thermodynamic properties from the partition function
6.3 Properties of a monoatomic ideal gas
6.4 Distribution of molecular speed
6.5 Equipartition of energy.
7. Bose-Einstein Gases
7.1 Blackbody radiation
7.2 Properties of a photon gas
7.3 Bose-Einstein condensation
7.4 Properties of a boson gas
8. Fermi-Dirac Gases
8.1 The Fermi energy
8.2 Free electron in a metal
8.3 Properties of a fermion gas

References
1 Ashley. H. Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics (2001). Prentice-Hall, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey 07458.
2 Sears. S. Thermodynamics, kinetic theory and Statistical thermodynamics (1974). Addison-Wesley
Publishing company, Inc.
3 David S. Betts and Roy E. Turner, Introductory Statistical Mechanics, Addison-Wesley (1993). D.V.
Schroeder, An Introduction to Thermal Physics, Addison-Wesley, (2000)
4 R. Baierlein, Thermal Physics Cambridge University Press, (1999).
5 F. Mandal. Statistical Physics (1989) John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA