group Small Group Activity

10 min.

Thermal radiation at twice the temperature
This small group activity has students reasoning about how the Planck distribution shifts when the temperature is doubled. This leads to a qualitative argument for the Stefan-Boltzmann law.

group Small Group Activity

30 min.

Energy radiated from one oscillator
This lecture is one step in motivating the form of the Planck distribution.

face Lecture

30 min.

Review of Thermal Physics
These are notes, essentially the equation sheet, from the final review session for Thermal and Statistical Physics.

computer Computer Simulation

30 min.

Blackbody PhET
Students use a PhET to explore properties of the Planck distribution.
  • blackbody
    Found in: Contemporary Challenges course(s)
These notes from the fourth week of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover blackbody radiation and the Planck distribution. They include a number of small group activities.

face Lecture

120 min.

Ideal Gas
These notes from week 6 of Thermal and Statistical Physics cover the ideal gas from a grand canonical standpoint starting with the solutions to a particle in a three-dimensional box. They include a number of small group activities.