Physics 4125: we are going to Moodle

Instructor: Ilya Vekhter,  vekhter.at.lsu.edu Office hours: MW 1:00-2:00 zoom via Moodle

Midterm exams: one in-class, one take-home

Final exam: take-home

Announcements: corrections to the syllabus available here

Syllabus: available in pdf here

Approximate lecture schedule/reading assignments (watch for changes):

  

 Date    Chapter – sections       Topic

 

Week 1   

1/13     1          1-2       Equilibrium and the Ideal Gas

1/15     1          3-4       Ideal gas cont. and Equipartition

1/17     1          4-5       Heat and Work

 

Week 2

1/20                             No class MLK Birthday observance

1/22     1          6          Heat Capacity                                             HW#1 Due Solutions

                                    Final day for dropping without receiving a “W”

1/23                             Final Day for Adding Course

1/24     1          7          Rates of Processes

 

Week 3

1/27     2          1-2       Probability review, two-state systems

1/29     2          2-3       Einstein solids; interacting systems            HW#2 Due Solutions

1/31     2          3          Interacting Systems

                                                                       

Week 4

2/3       2          4          Large Systems                       

2/5       2          5          The Ideal Gas                                              HW#3 Due Solutions

2/7       2          6          Entropy

 

Week 5

2/10     2          6          Entropy cont.             

2/12     3          1          Temperature                                                HW#4 Due  Solutions

2/14     3          2          Entropy and Heat

           

Week 6

2/17     3          3          Paramagnetism                                     

2/19     3          4          Mechanical Equilibrium & Pressure         HW#5 Due   Solutions

2/21                                               EXAM I (Ch. 1-2, 3.1-3)        Formula Sheet

 

Week 7        

2/24                             Mardi Gras Holiday

2/26                             Mardi Gras Holiday

2/28     3          5          Diffusive Equilibrium and Chemical Potential

 

 

                                                Week 8 (APS March Meeting, I am away M-Th)

3/2       4          1-2       Carnot Engines and Refrigerators

3/4       4          3          Real Engines                                              HW#6 Due Solutions

3/6       4          4          Real Refrigerators                  

 

 

 

Week 9

3/9       5          1          Free Energy as Available Work

3/11     5          2          Free Energy as a force toward equilib.     HW#7 Due   Solutions

3/13     5          3          Phase Transformations

 

Forced break

                                       
                                                                Week 12

3/30     6          1          The Boltzmann Factor                       

4/1       6          2-3       Average Values and Equipartition      

4/3       6          4          Maxwell Speed Distribution               Quiz due

           

 

Week 13

4/6       6          5-6       Partition function                                HW#8 Due

4/8       6          7          Ideal Gas Revisited     

4/9                                                                                            Quiz due

4/10                             Good Friday Holiday 

                       

Week 14

4/13     7          1-2       The Gibbs Factor                               HW#9 Due

4/15     7          2-3       Bosons and Fermions                        Quiz due

4/16                                                       EXAM  II    

4/17     7          3          Degenerate Fermi gas

 

Week 15

4/20     7          3          Degenerate Fermi gas                         HW#10 Due

4/22     7          4          Blackbody Radiation 

4/24     7          5          Debye Theory of Solids                      Quiz due                                           

 

Week 17

4/27     7          6          Bose-Einstein Condensation

4/29     8          2          Ising model: mean field                      Quiz due

5/1                               Review                                                HW#11 Due

 

 

Then:                           Final Exam!!!