Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                

Tut 3

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 2

PYL558: Statistical Mechanics

Tutorial Sheet-3

1. For an ideal gas, calculate hv n i, hv 2 vx2 i, and hvx2 vy2 vz2 i.

2. Obtain the Maxwell-Boltzman, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distribution functions by a


calculation in the microcanonical ensemble.

3. One kilo mole of hydrogen gas is at 105 K. If these atoms exist in the ground, first and second
excited state, calculate the number of atoms in the first excited state.

4. Suppose I have 10 particles in a box. What is the least amount of energy required to excite
a particle from its ground state configuration if the particles are (i) bosons, (ii) fermions and
(iii) electrons?

5. Count the number of standing waves/normal modes in a cubic cavity of length L on each side

(a) in the interval p and p + dp = g(p)dp,


(b) in the interval E and E + dE = g(E)dE,
(c) in the frequency range ν and ν + dν = g(ν)dν,
(d) in the wavelength range λ and λ + dλ = g(λ)dλ.

6. (a) It is always more convenient to use classical statistics. Show that in the high temperature,
low density limit, the two quantum statistics become identical to the classical statistics.
Obtain the condition for the validity of classical statistics.
(b) Can classical statistics be applied to a system of (i) 1023 molecules of hydrogen gas
occupying a volume of 20 litres at N T P ? (ii) electrons in a metal at 300 K, the electronic
density being 1029 /m3 ?

7. For an ideal Bose gas, obtain hvihv −1 i, where v is the velocity of bosons, as a function of T
and z = eβµ . Study the limiting case z → 0.

8. Show that an ideal Bose gas in two dimension does not exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation
unless T = 0.

9. Consider a radiation cavity of volume V at temperature T filled with a gas of photons, the
energy of a photon (corresponding to a frequency ω of the radiation mode) being ~ω. Using
the fact that photons are a gas of non-interacting bosons,

(a) obtain the Planck’s law in the form U(ν)dν = , where U(ν)dν is the energy content
in the frequency range ν and ν + dν.
(b) Further, verify Stefan’s law and Wien’s law for the radiation cavity.
(c) Obtain the expression for Radiation Pressure.

10. Generalize results (a) and (c) in the above problem for a d-dimensional radiation cavity.

11. Rederive the expressions for the Einstein and Debye specific heats using Bose-Einstein distri-
bution function.

12. Terms to be understood clearly in context of ideal Fermi systems :

(a) Free electron gas


(b) Fermi energy
(c) Fermi distribution at absolute zero and finite temperatures
(d) Degenerate Fermi gas
(e) Fermi sphere, momentum and velocity

13. The chemical potential at absolute zero of a free electron gas is called the Fermi energy.
Obtain an analytic expression for the Fermi energy. Also find the average energy of the
electron gas in terms of Fermi energy. Using these expressions calculate the Fermi energy for
protons in a heavy nucleus such as H80200 . The nuclear radius is given to be 8.7 × 10−15 m.

14. Show that if average occupancy of a state of energy EF + ∆E is f1 at any temperature, then
the average occupancy of a state of energy EF − ∆E is f2 = 1 − f1 . This is the reason for the
symmetry of the distribution of electron energies in a metal about EF at finite temperatures.

15. The small contribution to the electronic specific heat is related to the fact that electrons are
fermions. Show that this contribution is proportional to T .

You might also like