A study of temperature, heat, heat transfer, entropy, the kinetic theory of gases, and statistical mechanics. Thermodynamics deals with macroscopic properties of a system. Typically the macroscopic description of a system involves the specification of relatively few fundamental measurable properties, such as mass, volume, pressure and temperature. Temperature is a macroscopic coordinate which distinguishes thermodynamics from other branches of science.
Statistical mechanics is a branch of physics that deals with microscopic characteristics of nature.
The microscopic description of a system involves assumptions about the internal structure of the system which can include atomic and molecular structure and interactions. In this course we will study both of these approaches to physical systems. Class attendance is required according to university policy. Academic honesty is expected according to university policy. Wm. C. Brown Publ.