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Statistical Mechanics

Where the sharp numbers of thermodynamics come from, given that nobody can measure a single microstate.

  1. 01Probability DistributionsWhy averaging over 10^23 degrees of freedom gives sharper predictions than tracking three.
  2. 02Ensembles and the Meaning of TemperatureThree ensembles and what each one holds fixed. Temperature enters as a property of the counting.
  3. 03The Ising Model and Phase TransitionsSpins on a lattice. Whether a phase transition happens at all turns on the dimension.
  4. 04The Partition FunctionWrite down one sum over states. Differentiate it enough times and every thermodynamic quantity falls out.
  5. 05Bosons and FermionsOccupation numbers in the grand canonical ensemble. A single sign separates bosons from fermions.