Introductory statistical mechanics and thermodynamics 1200-2EN-ISMTER
1. Phenomenological and statistical description of macroscopic systems, quantum mechanical definition of microstate, density of states, statistical definition of temperature and entropy.
2. Properties of the entropy and statistical interpretation of the II law of thermodynamics, thermodynamic functions of the ideal gas.
3. Canonical ensemble for a macro- and microscopic system, statistical sum and its relation to thermodynamic functions.
4. Effect of rotation, vibration, electronic excitation, internal rotation, and nuclear spin on thermodynamic functions of gases, residual entropy and statistical thermodynamics of atomic crystals.
5. Application of statistical method to study chemical equilibria and rates of chemical reactions.
6. Grand canonical ensemble, fluctuation of the number of particles in open systems, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics and their simplest applications.
7. Statistical sum in the classical limit and its calculation for non-ideal gas, virial expansion of the equation of state, van der Waals equation.
8. Classical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations
Total workload: 125 hours including:
- participation in classes – 60 hours
- consultations with the instructor – 25 hours
- preparation for classes – 20 hours
- preparation for the exam – 20 hours
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Student understands basic ideas thermodynamisc and statistical physics , aquires knowledge of techniques to apply statistical mechamics to compute thermodynamic function, equilibrium constants, and rate constants for simple chemical systems
Knowledge: The graduate knows and understands
- The implications of thermodynamic laws for chemical transformations at an advanced level.
- Quantum chemistry models at an advanced level, specifically in the context of describing
the thermodynamics of macroscopic systems composed of atoms and molecules.
Skills: The graduate is able to
- Solve theoretical problems in the field of chemical thermodynamics.
- Apply the conceptual framework of quantum chemistry to analyze and interpret the thermodynamic properties of macroscopic atomic and molecular systems, as well as the pathways of simple chemical reactions.
Social Competences: The graduate is ready to
- Critically analyze existing theoretical methods for the description of macroscopic systems
Assessment criteria
written exam
Practical placement
no vocational training
Bibliography
1. F. Reif, Statistical Physics: Berkeley Physics Course, Vol. 5, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1967.
2. R. Kubo, Statistical Mechanics, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1971
3. K. Huang, Introduction to Statistical Physics, Taylor & Francis, London, 2001.
Additional information
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