## Approximating a Delta Function with Isoceles Triangles

• assignment Boltzmann probabilities

assignment Homework

##### Boltzmann probabilities
Energy Entropy Boltzmann probabilities Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020 (3 years) Consider a three-state system with energies $(-\epsilon,0,\epsilon)$.
1. At infinite temperature, what are the probabilities of the three states being occupied? What is the internal energy $U$? What is the entropy $S$?
2. At very low temperature, what are the three probabilities?
3. What are the three probabilities at zero temperature? What is the internal energy $U$? What is the entropy $S$?
4. What happens to the probabilities if you allow the temperature to be negative?
• assignment Gibbs sum for a two level system

assignment Homework

##### Gibbs sum for a two level system
Gibbs sum Microstate Thermal average energy Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020
1. Consider a system that may be unoccupied with energy zero, or occupied by one particle in either of two states, one of energy zero and one of energy $\varepsilon$. Find the Gibbs sum for this system is in terms of the activity $\lambda\equiv e^{\beta\mu}$. Note that the system can hold a maximum of one particle.

2. Solve for the thermal average occupancy of the system in terms of $\lambda$.

3. Show that the thermal average occupancy of the state at energy $\varepsilon$ is \begin{align} \langle N(\varepsilon)\rangle = \frac{\lambda e^{-\frac{\varepsilon}{kT}}}{\mathcal{Z}} \end{align}

4. Find an expression for the thermal average energy of the system.

5. Allow the possibility that the orbitals at $0$ and at $\varepsilon$ may each be occupied each by one particle at the same time; Show that \begin{align} \mathcal{Z} &= 1 + \lambda + \lambda e^{-\frac{\varepsilon}{kT}} + \lambda^2 e^{-\frac{\varepsilon}{kT}} \\ &= (1+\lambda)\left(1+e^{-\frac{\varepsilon}{kT}}\right) \end{align} Because $\mathcal{Z}$ can be factored as shown, we have in effect two independent systems.

• assignment Free energy of a two state system

assignment Homework

##### Free energy of a two state system
Helmholtz free energy entropy statistical mechanics Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020
1. Find an expression for the free energy as a function of $T$ of a system with two states, one at energy 0 and one at energy $\varepsilon$.

2. From the free energy, find expressions for the internal energy $U$ and entropy $S$ of the system.

3. Plot the entropy versus $T$. Explain its asymptotic behavior as the temperature becomes high.

4. Plot the $S(T)$ versus $U(T)$. Explain the maximum value of the energy $U$.

• assignment Pressure and entropy of a degenerate Fermi gas

assignment Homework

##### Pressure and entropy of a degenerate Fermi gas
Fermi gas Pressure Entropy Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020
1. Show that a Fermi electron gas in the ground state exerts a pressure \begin{align} p = \frac{\left(3\pi^2\right)^{\frac23}}{5} \frac{\hbar^2}{m}\left(\frac{N}{V}\right)^{\frac53} \end{align} In a uniform decrease of the volume of a cube every orbital has its energy raised: The energy of each orbital is proportional to $\frac1{L^2}$ or to $\frac1{V^{\frac23}}$.

2. Find an expression for the entropy of a Fermi electron gas in the region $kT\ll \varepsilon_F$. Notice that $S\rightarrow 0$ as $T\rightarrow 0$.

• face Gibbs entropy approach

face Lecture

120 min.

##### Gibbs entropy approach
Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

These lecture notes for the first week of Thermal and Statistical Physics include a couple of small group activities in which students work with the Gibbs formulation of the entropy.
• assignment Energy of a relativistic Fermi gas

assignment Homework

##### Energy of a relativistic Fermi gas
Fermi gas Relativity Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

For electrons with an energy $\varepsilon\gg mc^2$, where $m$ is the mass of the electron, the energy is given by $\varepsilon\approx pc$ where $p$ is the momentum. For electrons in a cube of volume $V=L^3$ the momentum takes the same values as for a non-relativistic particle in a box.

1. Show that in this extreme relativistic limit the Fermi energy of a gas of $N$ electrons is given by \begin{align} \varepsilon_F &= \hbar\pi c\left(\frac{3n}{\pi}\right)^{\frac13} \end{align} where $n\equiv \frac{N}{V}$ is the number density.

2. Show that the total energy of the ground state of the gas is \begin{align} U_0 &= \frac34 N\varepsilon_F \end{align}

• keyboard Electrostatic potential of four point charges

keyboard Computational Activity

120 min.

##### Electrostatic potential of four point charges
Computational Physics Lab II 2023 (2 years)

Students write python programs to compute and visualize the potential due to four point charges. For students with minimal programming ability and no python experience, this activity can be a good introduction to writing code in python using numpy and matplotlib.
• face Fermi and Bose gases

face Lecture

120 min.

##### Fermi and Bose gases
Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

These lecture notes from week 7 of Thermal and Statistical Physics apply the grand canonical ensemble to fermion and bosons ideal gasses. They include a few small group activities.
• group Magnetic Field Due to a Spinning Ring of Charge

group Small Group Activity

30 min.

##### Magnetic Field Due to a Spinning Ring of Charge
Static Fields 2023 (7 years)

Power Series Sequence (E&M)

Ring Cycle Sequence

Students work in small groups to use the Biot-Savart law $\vec{B}(\vec{r}) =\frac{\mu_0}{4\pi}\int\frac{\vec{J}(\vec{r}^{\,\prime})\times \left(\vec{r}-\vec{r}^{\,\prime}\right)}{\vert \vec{r}-\vec{r}^{\,\prime}\vert^3} \, d\tau^{\prime}$ to find an integral expression for the magnetic field, $\vec{B}(\vec{r})$, due to a spinning ring of charge.

In an optional extension, students find a series expansion for $\vec{B}(\vec{r})$ either on the axis or in the plane of the ring, for either small or large values of the relevant geometric variable. Add an extra half hour or more to the time estimate for the optional extension.

• group Magnetic Vector Potential Due to a Spinning Charged Ring

group Small Group Activity

30 min.

##### Magnetic Vector Potential Due to a Spinning Charged Ring
Static Fields 2023 (6 years)

Power Series Sequence (E&M)

Ring Cycle Sequence

Students work in small groups to use the superposition principle $\vec{A}(\vec{r}) =\frac{\mu_0}{4\pi}\int\frac{\vec{J}(\vec{r}^{\,\prime})}{\vert \vec{r}-\vec{r}^{\,\prime}\vert}\, d\tau^{\prime}$ to find an integral expression for the magnetic vector potential, $\vec{A}(\vec{r})$, due to a spinning ring of charge.

In an optional extension, students find a series expansion for $\vec{A}(\vec{r})$ either on the axis or in the plane of the ring, for either small or large values of the relevant geometric variable. Add an extra half hour or more to the time estimate for the optional extension.

• Static Fields 2023 (6 years)

Remember that the delta function is defined so that $\delta(x-a)= \begin{cases} 0, &x\ne a\\ \infty, & x=a \end{cases}$

Also: $\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \delta(x-a)\, dx =1$.

1. Find a set of functions that approximate the delta function $\delta(x-a)$ with a sequence of isosceles triangles $\delta_{\epsilon}(x-a)$, centered at $a$, that get narrower and taller as the parameter $\epsilon$ approaches zero.
2. Using the test function $f(x)=3x^2$, find the value of $\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} f(x)\delta_{\epsilon}(x-a)\, dx$ Then, show that the integral approaches $f(a)$ in the limit that $\epsilon \rightarrow 0$.