2024 Statistical Mechanics (EPS course)

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Academic unit or major
Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Instructor(s)
Sato Bunei  Nakamoto Taishi 
Class Format
Lecture / Exercise    (Face-to-face)
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Mon5-8(石川台2号館 Ishikawadai Bldg. 2 318)  Thr5-8(石川台2号館 Ishikawadai Bldg. 2 318)  
Group
-
Course number
EPS.B332
Credits
4
Academic year
2024
Offered quarter
2Q
Syllabus updated
2024/3/14
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
Japanese
Access Index

Course description and aims

This course is primarily for beginners who need a basic understanding of statistical mechanics starting from a summary of thermodynamics.
The classical gas molecular theory helps to grasp the basic concept of probability distribution to micro-canonical, canonical, and grand canonical ensembles. Some applications are shown.

Student learning outcomes

[Target] Students will become comfortable to use basic statistical mechanics as a useful standard tool for the Earth and planetary sciences.

Keywords

thermodynamics, gas molecular dynamics, micro-canonical, canonical,grand canonical ensemble, entropy, free energy, partition function

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills Intercultural skills Communication skills Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Starting with a brief summary of the previous lecture I will give a simple homework assignment to
help students gain a better understanding. At the end of the course an overall summary is given.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Thermodynamics(1) Basic concepts of thermodynamics, Helmholtz's free energy
Class 2 Thermodynamics(2) Internal energy, Heat, Entropy
Class 3 Gas molecular theory (1) Gas pressure, Maxwell's distribution
Class 4 Gas molecular theory (2) Applications: Averages, Collision Number, Mean Free Path, Absorption Line Width
Class 5 Micro-canonical statistics (1) Principle of equal a priori probabilities
Class 6 Micro-canonical statistics (2) Boltzmann’s formula
Class 7 Micro-canonical statistics (3) Applications: Rubber, Ideal Gas, Harmonic Oscillator
Class 8 Canonical statistics((3) Derivation from micro-canonical statistics, Helmholtz’ free energy
Class 9 Canonical statistics(2) Partition function、Boltzmann factor
Class 10 Grand canonical statistics Gibbs’ free energy、Chemical potential
Class 11 Quantum statistical mechanics(1) Bose statistics、Bose-Einstein condensation
Class 12 Quantum statistical mechanics(2) Fermi statistics、Fermi degeneracy
Class 13 Application of statistical mechanics to astrophysics White dwarf、Neutron star、Chandrasekhar limit
Class 14 Comprehension check Comprehension check

Out-of-Class Study Time (Preparation and Review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend a certain length of time outside of class on preparation and review (including for assignments), as specified by the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Undergraduate Learning (東京工業大学学修規程) and the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Graduate Learning (東京工業大学大学院学修規程), for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

none

Reference books, course materials, etc.

"statistical mechanics", Landau and Lifshitz

Assessment criteria and methods

Homeworks, Exercise, Mini-exam (50%), and Comprehension check (50%)

Related courses

  • EPS.B202 : Thermodynamics (EPS course)
  • EPS.B331 : Quantum Mechanics (EPS course)

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

none

Contact information (e-mail and phone)    Notice : Please replace from "[at]" to "@"(half-width character).

satobn[at]eps.sci.titech.ac.jp
nakamoto[at]eps.sci.titech.ac.jp

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