Physics 530, Fall 2012: Statistical Mechanics

D. M. Wood
Office: Meyer Hall 454
Phone: (303) 273-3853
e-mail: dmwood@Mines.EDU

Office hours and help session

If you forgot to pick up a problem set or handout, retrieve it from the list below and print it out. Let me know if you have difficulties with any PDF file.

Lecture notes

Introduction to ideas and thermo

Review of thermodynamics

Microcanonical ensemble, ideal gas

Canonical, grand canonical ensembles and ideal quantum gases

Canonical, grand canonical ensembles and ideal quantum gases (Sethna)

Phase transitions, critical phenomena, Ginzburg-Landau theory

Figures used for examples

Within each file, figures are in no particular order, alas.

Homework assignments

Homework 1, due Thursday, August 30th
Homework 2, due Thursday, September 6
Homework 3, due Thursday, September 13
Homework 4, due Thursday, September 20
Homework 5, due Thursday, September 27. Data set for N2
Homework 6, due Thursday, October 4
Homework 7, due Wednesday, October 17 because of October 11th Hour Test 1
Homework 8, due Thursday, October 25; Fortran 90 source code; Input file for code
Homework 9, due Thursday, November 1
Homework 10, due Thursday, November 8
Homework 11, due Thursday, November 15
Homework 12, due Thursday, December 6

Practice Exams

Handouts

Useful math tricks
Notes on the Monte Carlo method

Useful Mathematica Notebooks

Note: If you choose to use these Mathematica Notebooks as templates for a solution you turn in, please observe the following rules:

Remove my comments and section headings (and replace them with your own) and be sure to put in a written explanation of what you are doing!
Make sure that your Notebook runs correctly if saved and re-run from scratch with Mathematica. (I've seen too many Notebooks consisting of a random sequence of attempts to simplify expressions, with non-reproducible results because competing variable definitions were used at different times.)
If you turn in a printout, make sure it is printed `2up', i.e., with two logical Notebook pages per physical sheet. This is easy enough to read without wasting paper.

These Notebooks will display as text files. Save them as .nb files so you can run them.

Sample non-linear fits [SampNLFit.nb]; Sample non-linear fit data [SampNL.data]