Summer 2002

Course description:

Thermodynamics is a scientific discipline which describes the fundamental laws governing various bulk properties of matter and transformations between different states of matter in terms of macroscopic quantities such as temperature, pressure and volume of the system. It introduces some of the most fundamental and important concepts in physics such as internal energy, entropy via its first and second laws, respectively. During the course, one will learn these basic laws and related basic concepts, and their applications. Microscopic foundations of these phenomenological laws, such as kinetic theory of gases and statistical mechanics will be briefly discussed. This course is prerequisite, if not compulsory, for all students who will be a major in science, engineering, or medicine.

Grading:

The grading will be based on the final exam to be scheduled in early September. During the course, some home work problem sets will be given .

A masterpiece of the subject written by one of the greatest physicists of the 20^th century, especially known for his fundamental contributions to quantum physics, nuclear physics, both theoretical and experimental. This text is used only as a major reference book. The presentation of the materials in the course will be largely independent of the text. Reading the text is, however, highly recommended.

1. Introduction: What is thermodynamics?, thermodynamic equilibrium and the zero-th law, the ideal gas and absolute temperature, thermodynamic variables and the equation of state, quasi-static processes.
2. The first law of thermodynamics: Heat and mechanical work, the principle of energy conservation, partial differential and differential forms.
3. Application of the 1^st law: specific heats at constant pressure and at constant volume, enthalpy, Hess' law, free expansion of the ideal gas and Joule's law.
4. Kinetic theory of gases: quasi-static adiabatic expansion of gases, kinetic theory derivation of the ideal gas law.
5. The second law of thermodynamics: Two formulations by Thomson and Clausius, heat engine and Carnot's cycle, Carnot's theorem and the thermodynamic absolute temperature.
6. Entropy: Clausius' inequality and the definition of entropy, properties of entropy.
7. Application of entropy: Non-ideal gas and the Joule-Thomson effect
8. What is entropy?: statistical-mechanical interpretation, the third law of thermodynamics.
9. Thermodynamic potentials: Helmholtz' free energy, Gibbs' free energy, Legendre transformation, thermodynamic equalities.
10. Phase equilibrium: chemical potential, the Gibbs-Duhem relation, two phase equilibrium and the Clapeyron-Clausius formula.
11. Phase transition: van der Walls' equation of state and the liquid-gas phase transition, Maxwell's construction, scaling laws.
12. Thermodynamics of mixtures: Gibbs' phase rule, dilute solutions, osmotic pressure.
13. Theory of heat radiation: Stefan-Boltzmann's law, Planck's hypothesis of the energy quanta and derivation of his radiation formula.