Active learning and learning assistant training
We promote active learning and engagements from students during lectures and tutorials, so that you as a student will learn the most and have the opportunity to give us feedback on how to improve our teaching. Students are encouraged to learn thermal physics by participating in the tutorial sessions dedicated to problem-solving assignments and discussion forum. In the group tutorials, you have the opportunity to get individual feedback on your performance.
Teaching program
The course consists of self-study, assignments, group tutorials, lectures, and lab. We have problem solving sessions (regneverksted) on Wednesdays for solving and discussing weekly assigments. We have 2 group sessions where we implement learning assistant training methods. These are closed groups with a total of 40 students who will be closely monitored throughout the semester.
Lectures and seminars will focus a lot on the basic concepts in thermal and statistical physics and how the concepts apply in exemplified thermal and statistical systems. Lectures may not cover the entire curriculum - you must make sure that you read the textbook and do assignments.
Textbooks
This year we will use two textbooks that cover the theoretical curriculum:
- Daniel V. Schroeder: "An Introduction to Thermal Physics".
- Chapters 1 to 7.5 (included) are part of the curriculum except sections 4.3, 4.4 and 5.6.
- Anders Malthe-Sørenssen:" Statistical and Thermal Physics
Using Matlab/Python" except sections 10.5, 6.10.3, 9.7 and 9.8.
Tasks and Obligations
In addition to the weekly assignments, there will be 4 compulsory assignments (Obligs). You must solve and submit each of them before the deadlines. You must have passed at least 3 of the obligatory assignments to qualify for the final written exam.
Laboratory exercises
There are two compulsory laboratory exercises as part of the course curriculum. These will be related to the theoretical part of the curriculum and combined with numerical exercises. In the weeks 39/40 and 42/43 you will have to find a time slot that is free and that hopefully suits you.
Numerical computations
In this course we will use numerical computations to build intuition about physical processes and to find solutions. You must be able to write simple scripts in Python / Matlab or your favorite coding language to be able to follow this part of the course. You will also be obliged to install and run software to do simulations on ensembles of models of atoms and molecules.
On the exam you will not be asked to run Lammps simulations or read the Lammps trajectory files. You will be expected to be able to read ascii data files with a column structure and analyse them using numerical tools.