Textbook:
Daniel V. Schroeder: "An Introduction to Thermal Physics".
The following parts of the book are included: Ch.1.1-1.6, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4.1-4.2, Ch.5.1-5.3, 5.6 (slightly truncated), Ch.6, Ch.7.1-7.4, 7.6. Ch.8 is omitted.
R.Baierlein: "Thermal Physics" might be recommended as a supplement to the textbook mentioned above.
Overview of syllabus:
Ch.1 in the textbook presents some fundamental concepts within classical thermodynamics: Ideal gases, the first law, adiabatic and isothermal processes, heat capacities.
Ch.2 introduces entropy and the second law taking statistical probabilities as a starting point. Three systems are discussed: Ideal gases, Einstein solids and paramagnets.
Ch.3 elaborates further on these topics and draws the connections between macroscopic quantities like temperature, pressure, chemical potential, heat and entropy, and the underlying microscopic statistical behaviour.
Ch.4 gives a brief introduction to heat engines, refrigerators and heat pumps, emphasizing the ideal Carnot cycle.
Ch.5 introduces the thermodynamic potentials, free energy and conditions for equilibrium, and their significance for chemical reactions and phase transitions. The law of mass action is derived and applied to chemical reactions, dissociation of water (pH) and ionization of hydrogen.
Ch.6 presents the basics of classical statistical mechanics (Boltzmann statistics) and the relation between microscopic quantum mechanical properties and macroscopic thermodynamic quantities.
Finally Ch.7 gives a simple introduction to quantum statistics - Bosons and Fermions, degenerate Fermi gases (e.g. semiconductors and white dwarf stars), blackbody radiation, energy and entropy for a photon gas, Stefan's law, and Bose-Einstein condensation.
Learning outcomes:
After finishing the course the students should be able to:
Explain and apply the laws of thermodynamics, and fundamental thermodynamic quantities and their mathematical interrelations
Explain the statistical interpretation of thermodynamics, and the connection between microscopic and macroscopic properties
Use combinatorial methods to analyze mathematically simple systems, including calculation of thermodynamic properties
Carry out calculations for simple processes and analyze practical applications like heat engines
Apply the concepts of thermodynamic potentials and their thermodynamic identities, and use those as starting points for deriving other relations
Explain the basic physics behind phase transformations of pure substances and the concept of chemical equilibrium
Construct the canonical partition function for simple classical systems with various degrees of freedom, and use it for calculating thermodynamic properties
Apply quantum statistical distribution functions and the relation between particle number and chemical potential for analyzing specific systems like degenerate Fermi gas, blackbody radiation and Bose-Einstein condensates