Details of PH2104 (Autumn 2026)
| Level: 2 | Type: Theory | Credits: 3.0 |
| Course Code | Course Name | Instructor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| PH2104 | Thermal Physics | Supratim Sengupta |
| Syllabus |
|---|
| Review of Thermodynamics: 0th, 1st, 2nd laws, Entropy, TdS relationships, Carnot cycle, Thermodynamic potentials, Gibbs phase rules, Gibbs free energy and phase transitions.
Foundations of Statistical Thermodynamics: Boltzmann's hypothesis S = k logW . Statistical Mechanics: Introduction -- the need for a Statistical approach to thermodynamics. Statistical Distributions: Identical particles and indistinguishability. Counting of distributions for non interacting distinguishable and indistinguishable particles, Derivation of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution function. Random processes: Coin tossing and the drunkard's walk. Binomial distribution. Stirling's approximation for the factorial. The normal distribution. |
| References |
|---|
| Reference Books:
Thermal Physics by Garg, Bansal and Ghosh; 2nd edition (Primary) Heat and Thermodynamics by Zemansky and Dittman Thermodynamics by Enrico Fermi Concepts in Thermal Physics by Stephen Blundell and Katharine Blundell An Introduction to Thermal Physics by Daniel Schroeder |
Course Credit Options
| Sl. No. | Programme | Semester No | Course Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IP | 1 | Not Allowed |
| 2 | IP | 3 | Not Allowed |
| 3 | MP | 1 | Not Allowed |
| 4 | MP | 3 | Not Allowed |
| 5 | MR | 1 | Not Allowed |
| 6 | MR | 3 | Not Allowed |
| 7 | MS ( Physical Sciences ) | 3 | Core |
| 8 | MS | 5 | Not Allowed |
| 9 | MS | 7 | Not Allowed |
| 10 | MS | 9 | Not Allowed |
| 11 | RS | 1 | Not Allowed |
| 12 | RS | 2 | Not Allowed |