PHYSICS G4023x
Welcome to the home page for the Fall '05 course "Thermal and Statistical Physics" (Physics G4023x), taught by Prof. W.A. Zajc. I will use this page to announce homework and other course-related information.
How to reach me: My office hours are by appointment; that's so you can be sure of finding me. There's lots of contact information on my home page, my preferred mode (other than in person) is by e-mail at zajc 'at' nevis.columbia.edu. I am on campus Tuesdays, Thursdays and some Mondays and/or Fridays.
Lectures: Tuesday/Thursday, 1:10-2:25 pm, 214 Pupin.
Recitation: The recitation instructor is Jeanette (Ali) Hanks. The meeting time will be arranged during the first week of classes.
Text: An Introduction to Thermal Physics,
Daniel V. Schroeder, Addison-Wesley,
ISBN: 0-201-38027-7. I highly recommend the
website for the text, which has a lot of nice additional material from the
author.
Description: This course will teach you the physical principles underlying thermodynamics, and introduce you to statistical mechanics, which in turn provides the mathematical understanding of thermodynamics. Just as importantly, it will show how much you can learn about a vastly complicated systems by using statistical methods.
Homework: I will assign homework problems as we encounter them in class (note that the text's problems are interspersed with the material in each chapter). I will also announce these assigned problems on this web page. I will collect each chapter's set of problems at some well-advertised date.
Examinations: Two mid-terms and a final.
Grading:
Assignment #1: Due in class, Thursday, September 22nd:
(Note!- I have decided to use CourseWorks to assign homework and announce other class matters. But for those of you not yet registered, I've included Homework #1 below. All problems are from the textbook.)
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