You are on page 1of 8

Lecture

#1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 1/8

PE 09-28-1 Short answer example


The adjective that best describes physics is:
ON Board: Essentials: Physics 224: Thermal Physics
Marjorie Olmstead 685-3031 olmstd@uw.edu
Course web site: Canvas HW, OLO, lecture notes, etc. available there
Office: PAB B433. Office hours 1110 -12 Mon/Thurs. [After class is fine,
but I realize most of you have Phys 227, and I need to eat before 12:30
seminars]
TA: 4 different TAs, who will likely rotate grading.
HW first assignment due Friday, Oct 7.
Daily OLO (online learning opportunity = reading feedback) due with
each lecture. Will read as many as possible each day; start with next
person on list for the following day.
Clicker equivalent: Poll Everywhere. Bring web-enabled device; text
may be OK for most questions.
WELCOME
Special welcome to transfer students just starting out at UW.
About half of physics majors fill out the paperwork while taking this class
come talk with me if you are interested. Im the new UFA.
This is the class where we start to make the transition from receiving and
generating knowledge you will start to derive things in your HW, and
we will often make educated guesses to direct our thinking.
Survey results on forming study groups Ill set something up on Canvas.
Thermal Physics Dealing with Complexity
Most of the time in Physics 121 (mechanics), you dealt with single
particles or objects, frequently treated as a single point.
Macroscopic objects are complex, and have internal energy associated
with the individual parts vibrations in a solid, motion of molecules
inside a balloon, etc. We say they have thermal energy, although the
term encompasses more than this.

Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 2/8

This thermal energy is related, but not identical, to a parameter we call


temperature, which is something not well defined for a single point
particle.
Another thing that complex objects have, but point particles dont have, is
entropy, which is a measure of how much information we have about
the individual constituents of the complex object.
We also tended to slip under the rug processes that didnt conserve
mechanical energy (i.e. kinetic energy + potential energy). Friction,
inelastic collisions led to irreversible processes. These happen with
complex objects, since energy can go into relative motion of the
constituents and not just center of mass
DEMO
elastic/inelastic processes
You will need Physics 121 in this class: your first HW set will need free
body diagram, force balance, momentum conservation, energy
conservation. Review these over the weekend if they are rusty.
Results of Class Survey
See graphs on canvas.
What is Thermal Physics?
Thermodynamics: the branch of physical science that deals with the

relations between heat and other forms of energy (such as mechanical,


electrical, or chemical energy), and, by extension, of the relationships
between all forms of energy.

o Four basic laws derived empirically


0. Defining thermal equilibrium
1. Conservation of Energy
2. Arrow of Time and Spontaneous Heat Flow
3. Absolute zero can never be reached exactly
o Standard physics joke:
0. There is a game you must play.
1. You can't win; you can only break even.
2. You can only break even at absolute zero.
3. You can't reach absolute zero.

Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 3/8

o From these laws, we can make very accurate predictions about


very complicated systems.
o Thermodynamics deals with average properties of large numbers
of molecules macroscopic materials.
Thermo was developed BEFORE we knew for sure about molecules
weve known about heat flowing from hot to cold for millennia (or
longer), and the concept of heat as thermal energy dates to the 1830s,
the before atomic hypothesis was well accepted.
What is Statistical Physics?
Now, we know that complex objects are comprised of many parts.
Statistical Mechanics is how we describe properties of a macrosystem
(e.g. a cup of tea) knowing it is very many microsystems (e.g. H2O
molecules)
It puts thermodynamics on a firm microscopic foundation
Quote from Sommerfeld
Thermodynamics is a funny subject. The first time you go through it, you
don't understand it at all. The second time you go through it, you think
you understand it, except for one or two small points. The third time you
go through it, you know you don't understand it, but by that time you are
so used to it, it doesn't bother you any more.
Quote from Einstein
A theory is the more impressive the greater the simplicity of its premises,
the more different kinds of things it relates, and the more extended its
area of applicability. Therefore the deep impression that classical
thermodynamics made upon me. It is the only physical theory of universal
content which I am convinced will never be overthrown, within the
framework of applicability of its basic concepts.
What is the Difference?
Consider a cup of tea. How can we characterize it macroscopically? How
does that relate to microscopic information? This is likely the toughest
conceptual leap you need to work on this quarter: the connection
between what we can see (macroscopic) and what we know must be
there (microscopic) that gives rise to what we see.

Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 4/8

Test of Poll Everywhere


PE 09-28-1 Multiple choice example
The probability that I will get a bachelors degree in physics (as opposed
to no degree, or a degree in something else) is:
a) > 95 %
b) 75-95 %
c) 50 75%
d) 25-50%
e) 5 25%
f) < 5%
PE 09-28-3: Estimate of number of molecules
About how many molecules are in a cup of tea?
a) a trillion (1012)
b) a billion billion (1018)
c) a billion trillion (1021)
d) 100 billion trillion (1023)
e) 10 trillion trillion (1025)
f) a billion billion billion (1027)
ANSWER: (250 g water)/(18g/mole) = 14 moles = 14610!"
molecules ~ 1025 = 10 trillion trillion.
What else do we know about the tea?
Macroscopic
Microscopic
Temperature
T (~ 320 K)
Mass M (~240 g)

Thermal equilibrium = most probable states;


Temperature = how # of accessible states
changes with energy
Number of molecules N
(240 g water)/(18g/mole) = 13 moles = 8 1024
molecules = 2.5 1025 atoms.

Volume V (~ 240 cm3)

Density (~ 1 g/cm3)
In Liquid-vapor
equilibrium
Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Same space available for molecules to move,


although can subtract off finite volume of
molecules
Number density n = N/V ~ 31022 molecules/cm3
Costs no free energy to move molecule between
phases (chemical potentials equal)

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 5/8

Counting States
Cup of tea is a macrostate made up of indistinguishable microstates: 1025
molecules, each with certain momentum and position.
Each molecule is a microstate: we can imagine measuring everything
and/or knowing its quantum mechanical state
N = 1025 microstates make up this macrostate. Imagine moving the
molecules around, trading energies and positions among the
microstates: and there will be on the order of N! indistinguishable
combinations of microstates to give the same macrostate.
N! is a humongous number. There have only been 13.8 billion years =
440 million-billion seconds = 4 102+6+9+12 = 4 1029 psec since the
beginning of the universe you could never count the microstates.
Statistical Mechanics is all about figuring out how to predict the
properties of a macrostate given that we can only calculate whats
really going on in a microstate, and need to extrapolate to 1025
microstates.
Thermodynamics doesnt care about the microstate properties; stat mech
will allow us to handle small systems where fluctuations are
significant, while thermo doesnt.
We will go back and forth between these two views this quarter, but
mostly on the thermo side. Physics 328 goes into much more detail on
the stat mech side.

Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 6/8

Logistics
Course Grading and Advice
OLOs and Text
Read the book BEFORE class. The book is quite terse, and well
expand on the text in lecture. Many key points are in HW problems
rather than in the main text, so read those as well. Ill be using Tom
Moores text as well as Schroeder when preparing lectures.
Fill out OLO daily before class to show you have done the reading.
Asks you to make an order of magnitude estimate (well do it in class,
as well), summarize the main point of the section and what I should
spend time on or skip in class. Due at 7 am; open until 8 am. No late
OLOs count.
Homework
Homework will be due every week in class on Fridays (starting next
week; none week of Thanksgiving). Can turn it in by 1 pm to my
mailbox, so dont skip class to finish it up. No late HW accepted.
Assignment will be posted on Canvas, and you are responsible for
checking there. Let me know if I forgot to publish the page. Tentative
problems posted for first two weeks. My goal is to post every Friday
afternoon for the next week.
Clickers
Replacement credit awarded (counts in the OLO category). Using Poll
Everywhere. This is new to me, so well learn it together.
Exams
Midterms are Monday, Oct 24 and Wednesday November 23. Note
MT2 is the day before Thanksgiving, so make travel plans accordingly.
Final is Wednesday, December 14 at 8:30 am (sunrise that day is .
Grade is calculated from:
HW + MT1 + MT2 + Final Min(MT1,MT2,Final).
Thus HW counts, and I will replace your lowest midterm with your final if
that helps your grade.

Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 7/8

You can replace your lowest HW with OLOs each OLO is worth 1/20 of
a HW (there are 27 of them), so if you turn in 2 OLO/week, you can
skip one homework.
I will likely add Poll Everywhere to the OLO score.
If you cant make a MT, then that becomes the MT you drop.
Advice
There is less support in 224 than there was in 12x no labs, no
tutorials. You are expected to have learned how to learn during 12x,
and to be ready to be more independent.
See the website for a note to transfer students there is no historical
difference in how you perform in this class, but be prepared for lower
grades than in your previous institution.
I expect you to work together in this class, but I require everyone to
write up their own solutions to the HW.
Take a moment to introduce yourself to those sitting near you. You
will want one or more study partners for this class.
Accommodations
If you have reason to request accommodation (learning disability, travel
with sports team, etc.) please do so and I will be happy to
accommodate. It is normal to be different and accommodations are
there to level the playing field and help your transcript reflect your
true abilities. Talk to DRS and they can help you.
Title IX and Safe Campus
See syllabus for links. If you see something unsettling, report it.
Illness
PLEASE KEEP YOUR GERMS HOME by avoiding class when you are
coughing or feverish.
Please call or email with questions dont come to my office to tell me
you are too sick to go to class.
I will post my (admittedly cryptic) lecture notes. Note that they are
theoretically what will be covered in class, and not what actually
happens in response to questions, etc.
You can get a flu shot at Hall Health.
Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

Lecture #1

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

page 8/8

Table from Sturge, Chapter 1


Thermodynamics
Statistical Mechanics
Four basic empirical laws
0th law: A in eq. w/ B and B in eq. w/
C, then A in eq. w/ C. This allows
definition of temperature as whats
the same in A, B, C.
1st law: work and heat equivalent

Laws deduced from general laws of


physics (with plausible assumptions)
0th law: In equilibrium, probability is
maximized. Temperature has direct
physical meaning. Negative
temperature possible.
1st law: conservation of energy

2nd law: entropy of closed system


constant or increasing (entropy
arbitrary state function)
3rd law: all systems in eq. at T=0 have
the same entropy. There are
exceptions. Also formulated as heat
capacity goes to 0 at T = 0, so you
therefore cant ever reach T = 0.
Establishes general relations (through
derivatives, etc.) between physical
parameters that always hold

2nd law: closed system tends to most


probable distribution (entropy
related simply to probability)
3rd law: everything in ground state at
T=0. Entropy = 0 if ground state is
not degenerate (exceptions have
degenerate ground state, like a glass)

Deals only with average values

Allows for fluctuations (important in


small systems, or in large systems
probed on a small scale)

Exact within its range of validity

Almost always approximate (cant


really count all 2N states, where N ~
1023).

With enough data, can cope with any


physical system, no matter how
complex.

Attempts to calculate these


parameters from properties of the
microscopic constituents (e.g. atoms)

Needs little data input, but only


accurately applied to simple systems.
Gives qualitative understanding of
complex systems
Favored by chemists and engineers,
Favored by physicists, who usually
who deal with complex systems given choose which simple problems they
to them
want to work on.


Printed 11:50, 9/28/2016

You might also like