ChEN 610                                                                                                            Spring 2008

 

Instructor:	Prof. David Wu Coolbaugh Hall 156
Office Hours:	Mon & Fri 5-6, Wed 4-6
Web Site:	http://www.mines.edu/Academic/chemeng/courses/chen610
Text:	“Introduction to Modern Statistical Mechanics”, David Chandler, Oxford University Press (1987).

 

Course Philosophy: Statistical Mechanics is the study of the large-scale effects of fluctuations in physical systems.  Since science and technology are operating at ever-smaller scales, understanding and controlling the role of fluctuations has become critical.  Statistical mechanics has thus both provided the underpinning for the modern era of molecular-scale sciences, as well as undergone a revolution in its own conceptual and technical basis due to experimental and computational advances.  The goal of this course is to equip you with the broad concepts and tools of Statistical Mechanics that are a cornerstone of contemporary science and engineering. 

 

In addition, part of the time in this course will be allotted for you to work on special topics applying Statistical Mechanics in an area related to your research work or other interests.

 

Graded Coursework: The factors that will contribute to your grade are:

 

Homework	30%
Journal Review	10%
Project/Literature Research	20%
Exam 1	20%
Exam 2	20%

 

Homework: Homework will be your best chance to sharpen your individual understanding and skills in Statistical Mechanics, and is thus a major part of this course.  You will encounter some (hopefully) challenging problems, which offer a chance to learn deeply the concepts and methods for yourself.  I suggest giving them your best shot, puzzling over them if necessary.  If you then feel you are at a roadblock, please do consult other sources or discuss and work in groups.  Assignments will be posted on the class webpage by Thursday of each week and will be due the following Thursday.

 

Journal Review: Each student will review a journal article from the contemporary literature that employs statistical mechanics.  This can be theoretical or experimental, and preferably is in an area related to the student’s research or other interests.  Meetings will be set up with the professor to discuss the choice, understanding of the article, and presentation of the review.  The review will be a two-page written report accompanied by a 10-minute presentation to the class.

 

Project or Literature Research: Each student will have the choice of either doing a project or literature research on a topic to be developed in consultation with the professor, again preferably in an area related to the student’s interests or research.  The project or literature research will be written up as a ten-page report, accompanied by a 20-minute presentation to the class.  Project grading will reflect work put into the project, quality of work, and evaluations by the class.

 

Exams: There will be two exams in this class.  Since the final week or two of the semester will be devoted to presentations by students on their projects or papers, there will be no final exam.

Some Ideas and Areas for Literature Research or Projects

 

I’ve chosen a few topical areas of Statistical Mechanics that are in active development today.  These topics could be the subject of literature research (either a broad survey, or on a more specific topic), or a project (e.g., performing a transition path sampling Monte Carlo simulation on a system of your choice).

 

1.              Nucleation and Growth

2.              Rare Events

3.              Transition Path Sampling

4.              Glasses

5.              Polymers

6.              Non-Equilibrium Work Theorems and Single-Molecule Measurements

7.              Microcanonical Statistical Mechanics and Density-of-States Monte Carlo

8.              Brownian Ratchets, Maxwell’s Daemons, and Biomolecular Motors

9.              Chaos, Quantum Chaos, and Ergodicity

 

 

Other Suggested Texts

 

“Statistical Mechanics”, Donald A. McQuarrie, University Science Books (2000).

 

 “Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics”, Herbert B. Callen, John Wiley and Sons (1985).

 

“An Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics”, Terrell L. Hill, Dover Publications (1987).

 

“Statistical Mechanics: Principles and Applications”, Terrell L. Hill, Dover Publications (1987).

 

 

Course Syllabus and (Tentative!) Schedule

 

Week	Topic	Notes
1/14	Introduction and Review of Thermodynamics
1/21	Equilibrium and Stability
1/28	Fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics I
2/4	Fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics II	Meet to discuss journal article & project
2/11	Model Systems
2/18	Atomic and Molecular Systems
2/25	Phase Transitions	Exam I
3/3	Renormalization Group	Meet to discuss journal article & project: 2-page written review due
3/10	Spring Break
3/17	Journal Review
3/24	Monte Carlo
3/31	Rare Event and Transition Path Sampling I	(Edays Friday)
4/7	Classical Fluids	ACS & APS National Meetings
4/14	Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics I
4/21	Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics II	Meet to discuss presentations: Draft report due Exam II
4/28	Student Presentations	Last class Wed 5/1