Instructor Dr. Steven J. Gibson Office: KTH 2011 Phone 745-3019 Office Hours: by appt

Local Resources Semester Schedule Syllabus [PDF] Exam Tips [PDF] Basic Statistics [PDF]

Other Resources Hyperphysics PhET Demos comPADRE Programs Constants

Books An Introduction to Thermal Physics by Daniel V. Schroeder Author's notes and resources The Feynman Lectures on Physics: by Feynman, Leighton, and Sands

• Announcements

  • Mon 22 Jan
    • Expect Blackboard READING QUIZ on Sec. 1.1-1.3 of Ch. 1 on Wed 24 Jan!
    • Problem Set #1 (Sec 1.1-1.3): 1.1 1.7a 1.8a 1.12 1.14 1.16abcd 1.18 1.23
    • Aim for Exam #1 on Chapter 1 in 2 weeks, on Mon 5 Feb
    • Some Thermal Physics Terms and Definitions
      • Note temperature is not the first!
      • We will consider some quantities more than once at different levels of meaning.

  • Wed 24 Jan
    • PhET Demo: Gas Properties

  • Fri 26 Jan
    • READING QUIZ on Sec. 1.4-1.6 of Ch. 1 on Mon 29 Jan
    • EXAM #1 on Chapter 1 on Mon 5 Feb
    • See semester schedule for full details.

  • Wed 7 Feb
    • Figures for Discussion (from text)
    • Combinatorics references:
      • Math Is Fun: Combinations and Permutations
      • Better Explained: Easy Permutations and Combinations
      • Wikipedia: Permutation
      • Wikipedia: Combination
      • Wikipedia: Binomial Coefficient
    • Matter & Interactions Demo Programs
      • MI4 VPython Demo: 12-Wells-Oscillator
      • MI4 VPython Demo: 04-Ball-and-Spring-Model
    • Wikipedia Illustrations:
      • Einstein Solid - see arrangement illustrations
      • Phonon - alternative model of collective motion
      • Quantum Harmonic Oscillator - note wave functions, energy levels
      • Natural Logarithm - see Taylor Series representation
      • Laws of Thermodynamics (Wikipedia)

  • Mon 19 Feb
    • Negative Temperature (Wikipedia)
    • Another paramagnet application: Fast Magnetic Storage (Ars Technica)
    • 2nd Law Applications
      • Quantized Heat Flow (Ars Technica)
      • Fluctuation Theorem - "allowed" 2nd Law reversals for small systems
      • Life and Dissipation - 2nd Law as a driver of structure in matter? (Quanta Magazine)
    • Thermodynamic Identity
    • Onsager Reciprocal Relations

  • Mon 4 Mar
    • Thermodynamic Cycle (Wikipedia)
    • Heat Engine (Wikipedia)
    • Fire Piston (Wikipedia) -- See demo!
    • Stirling Engine (Wikipedia)
    • Steam Engine (Wikipedia)
    • Oscillating Cylinder (Wikipedia)
    • Drinking Bird (Wikipedia)
    • A new refrigeration method: ionocaloric cooling (Ars Technica)
    • Heat Pumps: Coming to a Home Near You? (Wikipedia)
    • Microbolometry at 0.05 K on ASTRO-H X-ray Telescope
    • Thermodynamic Free Energy (Wikipedia)
    • Helmholz + Gibbs Free Energies (Hyperphysics)
    • Simple Definitions of Terms - revisited
    • State of Matter ("Phase") (Wikipedia)
    • Triple Point (Wikipedia)
    • Water Ice (Wikipedia) - see especially phase diagram showing different H₂O ices
    • New H₂O Ice Using Graphene (Ars Technica)

  • Mon 25 Mar
    • PhET Demo: Neon Lights and other Discharge Lamps
    • Mean, Median, and Mode Plot (Wikipedia)
    • Gaussian function (Wikipedia)
    • Normal distribution (Wikipedia)
    • Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution (Wikipedia)
    • PhET Demo: Gas Properties

  • Wed 10 Apr
    • Fermi-Dirac statistics
    • Bose-Einstein statistics
    • Planck function
    • Blackbody Radiation
    • PhET Demo: Blackbody Radiation
    • COBE CMBR Spectrum
    • COBE CMBR Maps
    • Solar Model Spectrum vs. Frequency (Detail)
    • Solar Model Spectrum vs. Freq + Wavelength
    • Discussion: Cooling of the Human Body (see notes)
      • Radiative Cooling (hyperphysics)
      • Perspiration Cooling (hyperphysics)
    • Crookes Radiometer - in-class demo
    • Debye Model
    • Phonon
    • Plasmon and other Quasiparticles
    • Bose-Einstein Condensate
    • Superfluid Helium Video