Physics 229: Statistical Mechanics and Thermal Physics Spring, 2005

Instructor: Prof. Mark Battle Searles 304. Ph. 725-3410 e-mail: mbattle@bowdoin.edu

office hours: Mon. 12:00-1:30 & Weds. 11:30-1:00, other times by appointment (or luck).

Class Meetings: MWF @ 9:30am in Searles 313

Text: Thermal Physics, Second edition, by Charles Kittel and Herbert Kroemer, W.H. Freeman & Co. ISBN-0-7167-1088-9. Many of the problem sets will be drawn from this text and I will assign readings from it nearly every day.

Supplementary Materials: While class meetings will be built around readings from Kittel and Kroemer, you may find it helpful to refer to An Introduction to Thermal Physics by Daniel V. Schroeder, Addison Wesley Longman, ISBN-0-201-38027-7. At the end of the term we will also have readings from Fundatmentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics by Frederick Reif. Finally, for a solid conceptual introduction to this subject area, you may wish to consult Six Ideas That Shaped Physics Unit T: Some Processes are Irreversible by Thomas A. Moore. All of these books will be on “reserve” in the Gedanken Lab.

Course Outline: After a brief introduction to temperature and pressure, we will work our way through Kittel and Kroemer, covering at least the first 9 chapters. We will then skip to chapter 14. The readings for each day are available at: http://www.bowdoin.edu/~mbattle/courses/reading_schedule_229.pdf

Grading: Problem sets: 25%

Occasional quizzes: 5%

Midterm exam (in class and take-home): 30%

Final exam: 40%

Problem sets will be given out on Wednesdays and will be due 1 week later at the beginning of class. Late sets will not be accepted without advance consent. We will spend much of each Wednesday’s class discussing the problem set you just turned in.

Quizzes will given frequently throughout the semester during the first 5 minutes of class. If you arrive late, you’ll miss the quiz and receive no credit. The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17 at 9:00am. Mark your calendars and plan accordingly.

This sheet (the one you’re reading right now) and all other information relevant for the course, can be found linked to the course’s homepage at: http://academic.bowdoin.edu/courses/s03/phys229/