Physics 351, Thermal Physics (01:750:351)

Instructor: Professor Weida Wu  wdwu@physics.rutgers.edu

Office hours (in person and via zoom): to be determined and by appointment.

Communications:  Please send questions about the course to the Professor using e-mail from RU account.  Questions will be answered within one business day.

Meeting times:  Two 80-minute lectures per week in Physics Lecture Hall (PHL) 

                        Lecture:  Tuesday/Friday  (8:30 -9:50 AM) 

Office hour: TBD, in-person in Serin 117 (or schedule via email) 

Recitations:  None

Learning management system: Canvas

Homework: Assigned weekly in Canvas. 

Exams: Two in-class midterms and one close-book final exam

Course description: One semester of an introduction to thermodynamics and basic statistical mechanics.

              This course is required for students in the Professional Option.

Course overview:   “Thermal Physics” is an introduction to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.  Three model systems, namely, an ideal gas, an Einstein solid, and a two-state paramagnet, will be used as examples to introduce and illustrate various thermodynamic concepts.  The course will begin with the review of some of the familiar concepts related to the conservation of energy (the first law) as applied to thermodynamics.  Quantities such as temperature (T), internal energy (U), work (W) and heat (Q) will be introduced.  Then, the concepts of accessible micro-states, multiplicity (Ω) and entropy (S) will be introduced.  The connection between the multiplicity and the second law of thermodynamics will be established.  Precise relation between temperature and entropy will be given by considering interactions between two macroscopic systems.  The first and second laws are then applied to the discussion of engines and refrigerators.  Phase transitions and equilibrium between states of matter will be the next main topic.  Finally, introductions to classical Boltzmann statistics and quantum statistics of ideal gas wrap up the course.

Pre-requisites:  Intro E&M (01:750:227 or 01:750:272) and 01:640:251 (Calc3, Multi-variable)

It is assumed that students have had at least one year of college physics, including Analytical Physics 227 or 272. Students should be familiar with Newton's Laws, electric and magnetic fields and Maxwell’s equations (at least in integral form), and simple harmonic motion.

Co-requisites:    None

Text (required):  An Introduction to Thermal Physics,  (2021) by Daniel V. Schroeder,  ISBN: 9780192895554 (paperback) ISBN: 9780192895547 (hardcover).

Technology requirements

• Scientific calculator
• Scanning device or APP for homework submission

Please visit the Rutgers Student Tech Guide page for resources available to all students.  If you do not have the appropriate technology for financial reasons, please email Dean of Students deanofstudents@echo.rutgers.edu for assistance.  If you are facing other financial hardships, please visit the Office of Financial Aid at https://financialaid.rutgers.edu/

Physics & Astronomy Departmental Learning Goals:

• All Physics majors demonstrate knowledge of fundamental Physics principles and are able to quantitatively analyze a broad spectrum of problems presented in a range of undergraduate Physics courses.

Course-Level Learning Goals

1. Physics Analysis and Ways of Thinking. Students will be able break down a complex problem into simpler manageable steps, select and apply appropriate model(s) to analyze a given situation, apply appropriate mathematical concepts and principles, articulate a step-by-step solution, and judge how reasonable the result is within the constraints of the situation parameters.  
2. Thermodynamics. Students will learn the fundamental laws of thermodynamics, the concept of entropy, thermodynamic potentials and their applications in understanding maximum coefficients of engines and refrigerators, phases of matter and phase transitions.
3. Statistical Mechanics.  Students will learn about probabilistic understanding of the thermodynamic 2^nd law (the emergence of irreversibility), the statistical definition of Entropy, Boltzmann factor, partition functions, quantum statistics of ideal gas.

Schedule (provisional)

The tentative outline given above will follow in order of the topics given in the textbook except 1.7, 5.5, 5.6, Sommerfeld expansion in 7.3, 7.5 and chapter 8.  Class periods will be used for lectures, discussions and example problems.  

Week                           Topic

1                                  introduction, ideal gas law, kinetic theory, 1st law of thermodynamics

2                                  Enthalpy, Multiplicity, Entropy

3                                  2nd and 3rd laws of thermodynamics

4                                  Chemical potential and thermodynamic identities

5                                  Midterm I

6                                  Ideal heat engines and refrigerators

7                                  Free energy, phase transitions of pure substance

8                                  van der Waals gas, phase transitions of mixture

9                                  Spring Break

10                                Midterm II

11                                Boltzmann Statistics, canonical ensembles, equipartition theorem

12                                Gibbs factor, grand canonical ensembles, ideal quantum gas

13                                Degenerate Fermi gas, Bose-Einstein condensation

14                                Blackbody radiation, Review

 

Provisional Grading Plans

Homework:  30%

Midterms: 40%

Final exam: 30%

 

Letter grades (provisional):

90-100 = A

85-90 = B+

80-85 = B

75-80 = C+

65-75 = C

55-65 = D

below 55 = F

 

Assessment

Homework*                            30%

Midterm #1 exam                   20%

Midterm #2 exam                   20%

Final exam                              30%

*Submit scanned PDF on Canvas. Lowest 2 scores dropped. Late submissions not accepted. 

*Late homework policy: 1% deduction for each hour after due time until grade reaches zero.

 

Each homework problem would be graded on a 0 to 3 scale:

• 3 – fully completed problem, perhaps with tiny deficiencies (Outstanding)
• 2 – most of the conceptual steps done correctly, but some errors made (Good)
• 1 – some essential steps made (Satisfactory)
• 0 – nothing of value was done (Unsatisfactory)

Half points are allowed. The final score for that problem will be converted to the fractional weight of that assignment, where the total assignment would be 100%.

 

Policies

Changes: The course schedule and guidelines are subject to change. Any changes will be communicated promptly and clearly.

Absences: Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting website to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to your instructors.

If you have been told to quarantine, or are experiencing symptoms of any transmissible disease, please do not attend in-person class meetings. Contact the Professor to make arrangements for handling such absences.

Fostering an equitable and inclusive classroom.  All instructors, students, and staff associated with the Physics and Astronomy Department are expected to follow the Department’s Policy against Discrimination and Harassment https://physics.rutgers.edu/about-us/about-us-policy-affirmation. As stated in this policy, “The Rutgers Department of Physics & Astronomy strives to foster an academic, work, and living environment that is respectful and free from discrimination and harassment. The Department recognizes the human dignity of each member of the community and believes that each member has a responsibility to promote respect and dignity for others so that all community members are free to pursue their educational and work goals in an open environment, to participate in the free exchange of ideas, and to share equally in opportunities.”  

Resources for student success

The faculty and staff at Rutgers are committed to your success. Students who are successful tend to seek out resources that enable them to excel academically, maintain their health and wellness, prepare for future careers, navigate college life and finances, and connect with the RU community. Helpful resources include the Rutgers Learning Centers and school-based advising (for SAS, SOE, SEBS, and RBS). Additional resources that can help you succeed and connect with the Rutgers community can be found at https://success.rutgers.edu .

 

Please visit the Rutgers Student Tech Guide for resources available to all students. If you do not have the appropriate technology for financial reasons, please email the Dean of Students (deanofstudents@echo.rutgers.edu ) for assistance. If you are facing other financial hardships, please visit the Office of Financial Aid.

 

Disability Accommodations: Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/documentation-guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration form on the ODS web site at: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/getting-registered

Academic integrity

Rutgers University takes academic dishonesty very seriously. By enrolling in this course, you assume responsibility for familiarizing yourself with the Academic Integrity Policy and the possible penalties (including suspension and expulsion) for violating the policy. As per the policy, all suspected violations will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to):

 

• Cheating
• Plagiarism
• Aiding others in committing a violation or allowing others to use your work
• Failure to cite sources correctly
• Fabrication
• Using another person’s ideas or words without attribution–re-using a previous assignment Unauthorized collaboration
• Sabotaging another student’s work

 

If in doubt, please contact the Professor. Also review the Academic Integrity Policy and Academic Integrity Resources for Students.

 

Use of external website resources (such as Chegg.com or others) to obtain solutions to homework assignments or exams is cheating and a violation of the University Academic Integrity policy. Cheating in the course may result in grade penalties, disciplinary sanctions, or educational sanctions. Posting homework assignments or exams to external sites without the instructor's permission may be a violation of copyright and may constitute the facilitation of dishonesty, which may result in the same penalties as cheating.

 

The Rutgers honor pledge will be included on all major assignments for you to sign: “On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination/assignment.”

 

Almost all original work is the intellectual property of its authors. This includes not just books and articles, but the syllabi, lectures, slides, recordings, course materials, presentations, homework problems, exams, and other materials used in this course, in either printed or electronic form. You may not copy this work, post it online, or disseminate it in any way without the explicit permission of the instructor. Respect for an author’s efforts and intellectual property rights is an important value that members of the university community are expected to take seriously.

 

Student Wellness Services

 

The university provides a number of resources to support your physical and mental well-being. Several valuable resources and listed here and you are encouraged to contact the Professor for more guidance about university resources.

• Student Success Essentials: https://success.rutgers.edu
• Student Support Services: https://www.rutgers.edu/academics/student-support  
• The Learning Centers: https://rlc.rutgers.edu/
• Rutgers Libraries: https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/
• Bias Incident Reporting: https://studentaffairs.rutgers.edu/bias-incident-reporting
• Dean of Students – Student Support Office: https://success.rutgers.edu/resource/dean-students-student-support-office
• Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services: https://veterans.rutgers.edu
• Student Health Services: http://health.rutgers.edu/
• Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS): http://health.rutgers.edu/medical-counseling-services/counseling/
• UWill: free immediate access to teletherapy; you can choose a therapist based on your preferences including issue, gender, language, ethnicity. http://health.rutgers.edu/uwill/
• Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance: vpva.rutgers.edu/
• Office of Disability Services: https://ods.rutgers.edu/
• Basic Needs Assistance (food, housing, and other essentials): https://ruoffcampus.rutgers.edu/basic-needs
• Rutgers Student Food Pantry: https://ruoffcampus.rutgers.edu/food-pantry