Thermal & Statistical Physics · Physics
Statistical Mechanics, Monte Carlo Simulation on Ising Model.
Basic thermal and statistical mechanics, some quantum statistics
Various concepts in statistical physics (the partition function, the grand partition function, chemical potential, Shannon Entropy, Fermi and Bose Einstein statistics, Bose-Einstein Condensation, thermodynamics (work and heat), first and second order phase transitions, Monte Carlo simulations, the 1 and 2D Ising Model, etc.)
Statistical ensembles, shannon entropy, ising model, spin systems, quantum statistics, fermi and bose distributions, bose-einstein condensation, thermodynamics, carnot cycles
That you should not eat like 20 Twix minis over the course of an all-nighter. Oh, and that you can basically know everything about a system if you know the partition function.
we learned how to find the energy of a system by considering the available states of its particles and its associated entropy. To do this, we defined temperature and equilibrium, considering the laws of thermodynamics.
extremely poorly taught, every concept is explained in the worst way possible
I am a good friend. I would not recommend anyone to take Statistical Physics if it is not a requirement.
A good thing about this course was that it focused more on the statistical mechanics of physical systems rather than on the engineering-like thermodynamics of them. Although the material itself was interesting, the lectures were often difficult to follow and consequently the assignments were difficult to completely correctly. That being said, Prof Millis has regular flipped classes for students to work on assignments in groups - these were helpful. A recommendation to students interested in taking this course: take it with friends - collaboration will be unimaginably essential to doing reasonably well on assignments.
different from most other physics courses I've taken in terms of course content 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2022 Course: PHYSGU4023_001_2022_3-THERMAL&STATISTICALPHYSICS : PHYSGU4023_001_2022_3 - THERMAL & STATISTICAL PHYSICS Instructor: Gustaaf Brooijmans