Introduction to thermodynamics and statistical physics

obligatory courses

Student took the courses:

1. Calculs

2. Quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry

wuth elements of molecular spectroscopy

3. Physical chemistry

Classroom

Acquiring the skill of using the statistical model to calculate thermodynamic functions (entropy, free energy, etc.) for specific chemical systems, to study chemical equilibria and to estimate rates of chemical reactions. Another, equally important objective of the course is to show students how the statistical model enables us to understand the laws of thermodynamics and the relation between the properties of individual molecules and properties of matter in the bulk

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

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.

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

written exam

N/A