PHY252S
Outline
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So... why take this course? |
Material (from the course catalogue):
"This is a core physics course for the Major and Specialist Programmes. This course is designed to explain macroscopic interactions using statistical concepts. The course will discuss the dynamical basis of temperature, entropy, chemical potential and other equilibrium thermodynamic quantities. The statistical methods will be illustrated by examples in which quantum statistics is essential in understanding the macroscopic behaviour. Topics covered will be: The quantum statistical basis of macroscopic systems; definition of entropy in terms of the number of accessible states of a many-particle system leading to simple expressions for absolute temperature, the canonical distribution, and the laws of thermodynamics; specific effects of quantum statistics at high densities and low temperatures."
My translation:
The basic idea of this course is to learn how to predict the
average behaviour of a very large number of particles, starting from
first-principles information about one particle. Some concepts
may start out feeling a bit abstract at first (how is temperature
defined?, how is likelihood quantified? what is entropy?), but we
will work on connecting the abstract concepts with experiment and
building intuition. We will build the concepts and techniques
incrementally, using mathematical equations. In parallel, we will
build incremental experience with examples, starting with bare-bones
simplicity and adding complexity gradually. The overall aim is for
you to gain a concrete understanding of the fundamental concepts,
using the awesome power of the theoretical techniques. We will see
exciting applications of the theory to experimental phenomena
including thinning of air at high altitude, expansion of the early
universe, crystal vibrations, Bose-Einstein condensation, white dwarf
and neutron stars, and the impossibility of building a perpetual
motion machine, among others. By the end of the course, you should be
able to explain entropy to your least technically inclined relative,
e.g. your artsy uncle or grandma. 
Quite generally, the philosophy of major physics courses like this is to learn to model physical phenomena in our universe. As physicists, we design experiments to measure physical phenomena, we model those physical phenomena theoretically, and we then iterate this procedure with increasing degrees of sophistication. Mathematics keeps making an appearance in theoretical modeling; it is a deep fact that mathematics is the language of theoretical physics.
In this course you will benefit from being comfortable with doing algebra (plain ordinary algebra, not linear algebra / matrices), and with handling sums. Most useful math-wise will be comfort with multivariable calculus, e.g. differentials and the chain rule. The reason is simple: we will be concerned with physical quantities, like energy, that typically depend on at least two variables - e.g. temperature, number of particles, etc. Physics-wise, although we will be discussing fundamental quantum mechanical (QM) properties of particles, we will develop the relevant concepts from scratch because QM is not a prerequisite for this course. In some other places, when we bring in concepts from other areas of physics, e.g. electromagnetism, we will also provide a self-contained discussion.
All along, our emphasis will be on the "Why?" questions. Why does this experimental phenomenon happen, and why are we using this theoretical technique (or mathematical machinery) rather than that one to explain it?
My basic philosophy of teaching can be summed up in the
quotation:
"Education is not the
filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire"
- W.B.Yeats.
I hope that you will
be suitably "fired up" by lectures and tutorials to study the material
in the course.
Fun
 | For a hilarious encapsulation of a few of the ideas we'll develop, try listening to the old Flanders and Swann song on the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics:- |
(Editorial remark: oh dear! the stereotypical scientist is assumed
to be male! 
)
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