Entry requirements

120 credits with 90 credits chemistry or physics, including thermodynamics. Course in Calculus of Several Variables is recommended. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• account for the physical interpretation of partition functions and be able to calculate thermodynamic properties of model systems with using Boltzmann -, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics.
• account for the physical interpretation of distribution functions and discuss and show how these can be used in calculations of basic thermodynamic properties.
• calculate physical characteristics of non-ideal gases and liquids using the most common models for fluids.
• account for the fundamental ideas in the Debye-Hückel theory and use the theory for calculations of properties of electrolytes.

Content

Boltzmann -, Fermid-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics; Classical statistical thermodynamics; Distribution functions; Virial expansions; The Debye-Hückel theory for electrolytes; Lattice models for liquids; The Bragg-Williams approximation.

Instruction

Lectures or seminars and problem solving classes.

Assessment

Written assignments and written and/or oral test at the end of the course.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.