Instructor: Ken Read
Office: 309 Nielsen Physics
Telephone: 974-3027 (office), 974-3342 (sec.), 574-5347 (ORNL)
Web site: https://sites.google.com/utk.edu/kread
Office Hours: 2:30 - 3:30 pm T, Th and by appointment
Classroom: 306 Nielsen Physics
Classtime: 4:05 - 5:20 pm T, Th
Text: Statistical Mechanics 4th edition by R.K. Pathria and P.D. Beale (Academic Press, 2021), ISBN-13: 978-0081026922
Prerequisites: Physiscs 521, 531, and 571
Selected topics using practical physics examples:
Statistical basis of thermodynamics
Elements of ensemble theory
The canonical ensemble
The grand canonical ensemble
Formulation of quantum statistics
The theory of simple gases
Ideal Bose systems
Ideal Fermi systems
Thermodynamics of the early universe
Statistical mechanics of interacting systems
Phase transistions: criticality, universality, and scaling
Fluctuations and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics
Computer simulations
Class details are available on our class home page at http://sites.google.com/view/utkp551.
Homework assignments are posted in Canvas in advance and due by 5 pm on the assigned date. The associated reading indicated on the assignment is to be completed one week earlier (in order to be well-prepared for in-class quizzes.) Access to a laptop or computer is necessary. Homework is required to be your own original work. Do not refer to solutions from others, past semesters, or from the internet. Use of AI is not allowed for the assigned homework problems.
The Midterm Exam will take place at 4:05 pm (our regular class time) on Thursday, October 8 in our classroom. The Final Exam will take place at 10:30 am on Friday, December 4 in our classroom. The only resources allowed during these exams are student notes on up to 10 sheets of paper and a mathematical table of identities and integrals. No other resources are allowed (i.e., closed book, no laptop, no devices, no internet, no AI).
A brief (10-minute) closed-book quiz will regularly take place near the end of class in our classroom to assess reading progress and preparation. The quizzes require multiple choice and short answer responses and are intended to be straightforward if the assigned reading has been completed. No other resources are allowed (i.e., closed book, no laptop, no devices, no internet, no AI).
Active in-class participation is essential. Attendance will be recorded at the start of each class. Full credit for each day's attendance/ participation requires: on-time arrival, active participation, and alert attention to the lecture with no distractions (such as chatting, use of phone, or use of laptop other than for note-taking).
The components of the course are combined with the following weights to obtain the final score:
20% for average of homework scores
25% for midterm exam
35% for final exam
10% for average of closed-book quiz scores
10% for attendance/ participation average
A "curve" will be used to transform the final score into the final grade.
Any student who needs an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please, contact the Office of Disability Services in 100 Dunford Hall at 865-974-6087 to coordinate reasonable accommodations for documented disabilities.
Last updated 5/31/26. © Kenneth Read, 2026