An Introduction to Thermal Physics
- Length: 448 pages
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication Date: 2021-02-15
- ISBN-10: 0192895559
- ISBN-13: 9780192895554
- Sales Rank: #287842 (See Top 100 Books)
Thermal physics deals with collections of large numbers of particles – typically 10 to the 23rd power or so. Examples include the air in a balloon, the water in a lake, the electrons in a chunk of metal, and the photons given off by the sun. We can’t possibly follow every detail of the motions of so many particles. So in thermal physics we assume that these motions are random, and we use the laws of probability to predict how the material as a whole ought to behave. Alternatively, we can measure the bulk properties of a material, and from these infer something about the particles it is made of.
This book will give you a working understanding of thermal physics, assuming that you have already studied introductory physics and calculus. You will learn to apply the general laws of energy and entropy to engines, refrigerators, chemical reactions, phase transformations, and mixtures. You will also learn to use basic quantum physics and powerful statistical methods to predict in detail how temperature affects molecular speeds, vibrations of solids, electrical and magnetic behaviors, emission of light, and exotic low-temperature phenomena. The problems and worked examples explore applications not just within physics but also to engineering, chemistry, biology, geology, atmospheric science, astrophysics, cosmology, and everyday life.
Cover An Introduction to Thermal Physics Copyright Contents Preface 1 Energy in Thermal Physics 1.1 Thermal Equilibrium 1.2 The Ideal Gas Microscopic Model of an Ideal Gas 1.3 Equipartition of Energy 1.4 Heat and Work 1.5 Compression Work Compression of an Ideal Gas 1.6 Heat Capacities Latent Heat Enthalpy 1.7 Rates of Processes Heat Conduction Conductivity of an Ideal Gas Viscosity Diffusion 2 The Second Law 2.1 Two-State Systems The Two-State Paramagnet 2.2 The Einstein Model of a Solid 2.3 Interacting Systems 2.4 Large Systems Very Large Numbers Stirling’s Approximation Multiplicity of a Large Einstein Solid Sharpness of the Multiplicity Function 2.5 The Ideal Gas Multiplicity of a Monatomic Ideal Gas Interacting Ideal Gases 2.6 Entropy Entropy of an Ideal Gas Entropy of Mixing Reversible and Irreversible Processes 3 Interactions and Implications 3.1 Temperature A Silly Analogy Real-World Examples 3.2 Entropy and Heat Predicting Heat Capacities Measuring Entropies The Macroscopic View of Entropy 3.3 Paramagnetism Notation and Microscopic Physics Numerical Solution Analytic Solution 3.4 Mechanical Equilibrium and Pressure The Thermodynamic Identity Entropy and Heat Revisited 3.5 Diffusive Equilibrium and Chemical Potential 3.6 Summary and a Look Ahead 4 Engines and Refrigerators 4.1 Heat Engines The Carnot Cycle 4.2 Refrigerators 4.3 Real Heat Engines Internal Combustion Engines The Steam Engine 4.4 Real Refrigerators The Throttling Process Liquefaction of Gases Toward Absolute Zero 5 Free Energy and Chemical Thermodynamics 5.1 Free Energy as Available Work Electrolysis, Fuel Cells, and Batteries Thermodynamic Identities 5.2 Free Energy as a Force toward Equilibrium Extensive and Intensive Quantities Gibbs Free Energy and Chemical Potential 5.3 Phase Transformations of Pure Substances Diamonds and Graphite The Clausius-Clapeyron Relation The van der Waals Model 5.4 Phase Transformations of Mixtures Free Energy of a Mixture Phase Changes of a Miscible Mixture Phase Changes of a Eutectic System 5.5 Dilute Solutions Solvent and Solute Chemical Potentials Osmotic Pressure Boiling and Freezing Points 5.6 Chemical Equilibrium Nitrogen Fixation Dissociation of Water Oxygen Dissolving in Water Ionization of Hydrogen 6 Boltzmann Statistics 6.1 The Boltzmann Factor The Partition Function Thermal Excitation of Atoms 6.2 Average Values Paramagnetism Rotation of Diatomic Molecules 6.3 The Equipartition Theorem 6.4 The Maxwell Speed Distribution 6.5 Partition Functions and Free Energy 6.6 Partition Functions for Composite Systems 6.7 Ideal Gas Revisited The Partition Function Predictions 7 Quantum Statistics 7.1 The Gibbs Factor An Example: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 7.2 Bosons and Fermions The Distribution Functions 7.3 Degenerate Fermi Gases Zero Temperature Small Nonzero Temperatures The Density of States The Sommerfeld Expansion 7.4 Blackbody Radiation The Ultraviolet Catastrophe The Planck Distribution Photons Summing over Modes The Planck Spectrum Total Energy Entropy of a Photon Gas The Cosmic Background Radiation Photons Escaping through a Hole Radiation from Other Objects The Sun and the Earth 7.5 Debye Theory of Solids 7.6 Bose-Einstein Condensation Real-World Examples Why Does it Happen? 8 Systems of Interacting Particles 8.1 Weakly Interacting Gases The Partition Function The Cluster Expansion The Second Virial Coefficient 8.2 The Ising Model of a Ferromagnet Exact Solution in One Dimension The Mean Field Approximation Monte Carlo Simulation A Elements of Quantum Mechanics A.1 Evidence for Wave-Particle Duality The Photoelectric Effect Electron Diffraction A.2 Wavefunctions The Uncertainty Principle Linearly Independent Wavefunctions A.3 Definite-Energy Wavefunctions The Particle in a Box The Harmonic Oscillator The Hydrogen Atom A.4 Angular Momentum Rotating Molecules Spin A.5 Systems of Many Particles A.6 Quantum Field Theory B Mathematical Results B.1 Gaussian Integrals B.2 The Gamma Function B.3 Stirling’s Approximation B.4 Area of a d-Dimensional Hypersphere B.5 Integrals of Quantum Statistics Suggested Reading Undergraduate Thermal Physics Texts Graduate-Level Texts Introductory Texts Popularizations Engines and Refrigerators Chemical Thermodynamics Biology Earth and Environmental Science Astrophysics and Cosmology Condensed Matter Physics Computer Simulations Astrophysics and Cosmology Condensed Matter Physics Computer Simulations History and Philosophy Tables of Thermodynamic Data Reference Data Thermodynamic Properties of Selected Substances Index
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