College of Science

PHYS61700 (PHYS617) Spring 2008

Statistical Mechanics

Current session: NOT IN SESSION

Offering: Fall and Spring, Class 3, cr. 3

Prerequisites: PHYS-600 or equivalent

Description: This is a core course in Statistical Mechanics intended for all Physics graduate students at Purdue. The material covered is at a somewhat more advanced level than the typical undergraduate course on the subject. Topics will range from a treatment of the Boltzmann equation to an introduction to phase transitions and critical phenomena. A good knowledge of Thermodynamics is necessary. If you have not taken a course in Thermodynamics a number of good books on the subject are available and should be studied before attending the course. Although a certain knowledge of mathematical methods for Physics (like for instance the material covered in PHYS-600 and PHYS-601 at Purdue) would be very useful, the course is mostly self-contained.

Textbook(s) for Spring 2008
Course Title Author Edition ISBN Publisher
PHYS617 Statistical Physics L.D. Landau & E.M. Lifshitz 3rd; Part 1 0750633727 Butterworth-Heinemann