LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034
M.Sc. DEGREE EXAMINATION – PHYSICS
FIRST SEMESTER – NOVEMBER 2010
PH 1815 / 1810 – STATISTICAL MECHANICS
Date : 09-11-10 Dept. No. Max. : 100 Marks
Time : 1:00 – 4:00
Part – A
Answer all questions ( 10 x 2 = 20 )
- What is the form of second law of thermodynamics when the number of particles of the system under observation is not a constant?
- What is meant by correct Boltzmann counting?
- Evaluate the integral
- What is grand canonical potential? Express grand canonical partition function in terms of the potential.
- Why does liquid 3He show super fluidity even though 3He molecules are Fermions.
- The pressure exerted by a Boson gas below the critical temperature is independent of its volume. Substantiate this statement.
- Why does the electronic heat capacity dominate the atomic heat capacity at very low temperatures?
- Is nuclear matter degenerate or not? Justify your answer.
- Define mean square deviation.
- The ensemble of a large system approximates a microcanonical ensemble. Substantiate this statement.
Part – B
Answer any four questions ( 4 x 7.5 = 30 )
- a) What is a Slater determinant? How is Pauli’s exclusion principle incorporated into the Fermion wave function? (5)
- b) In a one dimensional box of length 2a, a particle with constant velocity is mirror reflected at the walls. Draw its phase trajectory. (2.5)
- Obtain the grand canonical distribution function.
- Derive Stefan Boltzmann law for black body radiation.
- Derive an expression for the magnetic susceptibility of a free electron gas.
- Obtain an expression for the concentration fluctuation in grand canonical ensemble.
Part – C
Answer any four questions ( 4 x 12.5 = 50 )
- a) State and prove Liouville’s theorem. (10)
- b) Explain the principle of conservation of extension in phase. (2.5)
- Obtain the expression for the entropy of an ideal gas by the method of canonical ensemble.
- What is Bose-Einstein condensation? With necessary theory and relevant diagram show how the BE distribution function varies as temperature decreases below the transition temperature.
- Explain the theory for the specific heat capacity of liquid helium below transition temperature.
- Applying the theory of one dimensional random walk, show that a system of Brownian particles concentrated at the origin x=0 at time t=o, spread out with time.
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