| Bilkent University | Department of Physics |
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| Bilkent University | Department of Physics |
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| PHYS 334 - Statistical Physics |
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| Semester: | Spring 2023 | |||
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| Instructor: | Cemal Yalabik | |||
| Office: | Room SA-228 | Phone 1316 | ||
| Office Hours: | Wednesdays | 12:30 - 13:20 | Room SA-228 | |
| All other times | (if available - call 1316 to check) | Room SA-228 | ||
| Assistant: | Beyza Sütlüoglu | |||
| Homework: | Policy | Assignments | ||
| Exams & Grading: | "Cheat sheets" will not be allowed during the exams,
but you will be provided with sufficient information for solving the
problems without memorization.
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| First Exam (Solutions) | % | Friday, April 14 | 8:30 - 10:20 | |
| Second Exam (Solutions) | % | Friday, May 12 | 15:30 - 17:30 | |
| Final Exam (Solutions) | % | Tuesday, June 13 | 9:00 - 12:00 | |
| Homework/Quiz/Participation | % | |||
| Course Schedule: | ||||
| First meeting: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 10:30 - 12:20 in SA-Z04 | ||||
| Wednesdays | 10:30-12:20 | Room SA-Z04 | ||
| Fridays | 15:30 - 16:20 | Room SA-Z04 | ||
| Recitation: | Fridays | 16:30 - 17:20 | Room SA-Z04 | |
Textbook:
Statistical Mechanics is a well established topic, fundamentals of which date back more than a hundred years. Its applications and methodology have developed considerably during that time. The study of this subjects is useful not only for learning Statistical Physics, but also for techniques and topics (such as density matrices, quantum spin chains, etc.) useful in other areas of Physics. Although there is no shortage of very good textbooks, it is somewhat difficult to access a particular selection of topics through a single textbook, at an appropriate level. There will be only recommended textbooks for this course. The course will loosely follow the sequence in
(Blu) Concepts in Thermal Physics by S.J. Blundell & K.M. Blundell
although some topics will be skipped, and the order of discussion of some topics will be different.
Other recommended textbooks:
(Sch) An Introduction to Thermal Physics D.V. Schroeder
(Bai) Thermal Physics by R. Baierlein
(Kit) Thermal Physics by C. Kittel & H. Kroemer
(Hua) Statistical Mechanics by K. Huang
Lecture notes: Available through the Moodle pages for this course.
Homework for this week: There will be weekly homework assignments in this course.
Problem solving sessions: Occasionally, we will hold problem solving sessions, during the recitation hour. A problem will be asked, and all students will be expected to solve the problem on their own. You can use your textbooks or notes, but may not discuss the problem with your friends. You may discuss it with the instructor. You will have to complete the solution and hand it in during the session, your solution will be graded as a quiz.
You can view your grades through the Stars system.
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FZ Policy In order to get a D grade from this course, a student must show an overall achievement level of %. An important part of this achievement must be accumulated through regular studying, before taking the final exam. The student must demonstrate this by accumulating sufficient pre-final points from the first and second exams such that the overall average will be over % even if the remaining assessment grades (i.e. Homework+Quiz+Final) average to less than or equal to twice this pre-final grade. Therefore a student cannot get a D grade if the pre-final achivement level is below % from the first and second exams. This means, a student will receive the FZ grade (and will not be able to take the final exam) if the average is lower than % from the first and second exams! (If the average is %, the student will need to receive from the remaining assesments [Homework+Quiz+Final] to get a D grade.)
This course was carried partially online due to the earthquake in eastern Turkey. During that time, lecture notes and video recordings of Zoom sessions of classes were made available through the Internet. The links below provide access to that material. (Note that the lecture notes were not prepared with the intension of distribution to students, but as notes for myself for use during the lectures, so they may be of limited utility.) Lecture notes:
Video recordings of some classes:
Other Relevant links:
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