Study Programmes 2016-2017
PHYS0212-2  
Statistical physics
Duration :
30h Th, 30h Pr
Number of credits :
Bachelor in physics6
Lecturer :
Nicolas Vandewalle
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
1. Introduction 2. Statistics 3. Statistical approach 4. Gibbs measures 5. Ideal gas revisited 6. Fluids 7. Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution 8. Fermi-Dirac distribution 9. Bose-Einstein distribution 10. Phase transitions 11. Spin models 12. Critical phenomena and scale invariance 13. Random walks 14. Percolation
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
The aim of this lecture is to introduce modern tools of statistical physics and to emphasize their applications : gas, amorphous systems, exotic materials, phase transitions, diffusion, ... The second objective is to show original experiments to student as well as research projects.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
The lecture is based on general physics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and hamiltonian mechanics.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Exercises and additional examples to illustrate the theory. Research projects in the lab.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Second semester.
Recommended or required readings :
PDF files can be found on the website of Prof. Nicolas Vandewalle.
Assessment methods and criteria :
Obligation to follow lab projects. 
Written/oral examination (65%). Presentation of the research project (35%).
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
...
Contacts :
Nicolas Vandewalle : 04/366.3703, nvandewalle@ulg.ac.be
Items online :
PDF files
PDF files