Thermal Physics

General Description

Physics 213 is a calculus-based, introductory course in thermal physics. Topics include:

• First and second laws of thermodynamics including: o Kinetic theory of gases o Heat capacity

• Heat engines

• Introduction to entropy and statistical mechanics

• Introduction to free energy and Boltzmann factor

• Many, many applications.

Student learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and describe the statistical nature of concepts and laws in thermodynamics, in particular: entropy, temperature, chemical potential, free energies, partition functions.

• Use the statistical physics methods, such as Boltzmann distribution, Gibbs distribution, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions to solve problems in some physical systems.

• Apply the concepts and principles of black-body radiation to analyse radiation phenomena in thermodynamic systems.

• Apply the concepts and laws of thermodynamics to solve problems in thermodynamic systems such as gases, heat engines and refrigerators.

• Analyse phase equilibrium condition and identify types of phase transitions of physical systems.

• Design, set up, and carry out experiments; analyse data recognising and accounting for errors; and compare with theoretical predictions