Lecture notes on Statistical Physics This course is an introduction to statistical physics. The aim of statistical physics is to model systems with an extremely large number of degrees of freedom. To give an example, let us imagine that we want to model 1L of pure water. Let's say that one molecule of water has a typical size of = 3 A _ of space.
1. The Fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics 2. Classical Gases 3. Quantum Gases 4. Classical Thermodynamics 5. Phase Transitions These lecture notes are far from original. They borrow heavily both from the books described above and the online resources listed on the course webpage.
Full lecture notes come in around 190 pages. Individual chapters and problem sets can also be found below. A second course on statistical mechanics, covering non-equilibrium phenomena, can be found here. A third course on statistical mechanics, covering critical phenomena, can be found here . 1. Fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics: PDF
The Statistical Description of Physical Systems 2.1. Microstates and Macrostates 2.2. The Density of States 2.3. The Postulate of Equal a priori Probabilities 2.4. Time Averages and Ensemble Averages 2.5. The Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution 2.6. Thermodynamic Forces 2.7. Probabilities of Macrostates 2.8. Thermodynamic Potentials 2.9. Averages 2.10.
This is an introductory course on Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics given to final year undergraduates. They were last updated in May 2012. Full lecture notes come in around 190 pages. Individual chapters and problem sets can also be found below. A second course on statistical mechanics, covering non-equilibrium phenomena, canbe found here.
1. Fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics: PDF Introduction; Microcanonical Ensemble; Entropy and the Second Law; Temperature; Two-State Spin System; First Law of Thermodynamics; Canonical Ensembl
Problem Sheet 1: Postscript PDF EnsemblesProblem Sheet 2: Postscript PDF Classical and Quantum GasesProblem Sheet 3: Postscript PDF Bosons and FermionsProblem Sheet 4: Postscript PDF Thermodynamics and Phase Transitions See full list on damtp.cam.ac.uk
Statistical Mechanics of Particles:Mehran Kardar's lectures from MIT.Statistical Mechanics of Fields:The second installment of Mehran Kardar's lectures.Thermodynamics and Statistical MechanicsLecture Notes by Daniel Arovas (links directly to pdf file)Statistical PhysicsA three semester course from Caltech by Michael Cross See full list on damtp.cam.ac.uk