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This document is a preface and introduction to a series of books titled 'Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions,' which covers various physics topics including Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. The series contains 2550 problems selected from graduate school entrance exams of seven U.S. universities, aimed at enhancing understanding of physical principles and practical applicability. The current volume focuses on Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, comprising 367 problems with solutions that guide rather than dictate the problem-solving process.

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Jacobo Lopez
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51 views

part_2

This document is a preface and introduction to a series of books titled 'Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions,' which covers various physics topics including Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. The series contains 2550 problems selected from graduate school entrance exams of seven U.S. universities, aimed at enhancing understanding of physical principles and practical applicability. The current volume focuses on Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, comprising 367 problems with solutions that guide rather than dictate the problem-solving process.

Uploaded by

Jacobo Lopez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Published by

World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.


P 0 Box 128, Farrer Road, Singapore 9128
USA office: 687 Hartwell Street, Teaneck, NJ 07666
UK office: 73 Lynton Mead, Totteridge, London N20 8DH

Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions


PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ON THERMODYNAMICS AND
STATISTICAL MECHANICS
Copyright 0 1990 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof; may not he reproduced
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
copying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now
known or t o be invented, without written permission from the Publisher.

ISBN 981 -02-0055 - 2


98 1-02-0056-0 (pbk)

Printed in Singapore by JBW Printers and Binders Pte. Ltd


PREFACE

This series of physics problems and solutions which consists of seven


parts - Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Optics, Atomic Nuclear and Parti-
cle Physics, Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, Quantum Mechan-
ics, Solid State Physics - contains a selection of 2550 problems from the
graduate school entrance and qualifying examination papers of seven U.S.
universities - California University Berkeley Campus, Columbia University,
Chicago University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York State
University Buffalo Campus, Princeton University, Wisconsin University -
as well as the CUSPEA and C.C. Ting’s papers for selection of Chinese
students for further studies in U.S.A. and their solutions which respresent
the effort of more than 70 Chinese physicists.
The series is remarkable for its comprehensive coverage. In each area
the problems span a wide spectrum of topics while many problems overlap
several areas. The problems themselves are remarkable for their versatil-
ity in applying the physical laws and principles, their up-to-date realistic
situations, and their scanty demand on mathematical skills. Many of the
problems involve order of magnitude calculations which one often requires
in an experimental situation for estimating a quantity from a simple model.
In short, the exercises blend together the objectives of enhancement of one’s
underst anding of the physical principles and practical applicability.
The solutions as presented generally just provide a guidance t o solving
the problems rather than step by step manipulation and leave much t o the
student to work out for him/herself, of whom much is demanded of the
basic knowledge in physics. Thus the series would provide an invaluable
complement t o the textbooks.
In editing no attempt has been made t o unify the physical terms and
symbols. Rather, they are left t o the setters’ and solvers’ own preferences
so as to reflect the realistic situation of the usage today.
The present volume for Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics com-
prises 367 problems.

Lim Yung Kuo


Editor

Y
INTRODUCTION

Solving problems in school work is the exercise of mental faculties,


and examination problems are usually picked from the problems in school
work. Working out problems is a necessary and important aspect in studies
of Physics.
The Major American University Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and So-
lutions is a series of books which consists of seven volumes. The subjects
of each volume and their respective referees (in parentheses) are as follows:
1. Mechanics (Qiang Yan-qi, Gu En-pu, Cheng Jia-fu, Li Ze-hua, Yang
De-tian)
2. Electromagnetism (Zhao Shu-ping, You Jun-han, Zhu Jun-jie)
3. Optics (Bai Gui-ru, Guo Guang-can)
4. Atomic, Nuclear and- Particle Physics (Jin Huai-cheng, Yang Bao-
zhong, Fan Yang-mei)
5. Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics (Zheng Jiu-ren)
6. Quantum Mechanics (Zhang You-de, Zhu Dong-pei, Fan Hong-yi)
7. Solid Physics and Comprehensive Topics (Zhang Jia-lu, Zhou You-
yuan, Zhang Shi-ling)
The books cover almost all aspects of University Physics and contain
2550 problems, most of which are solved in detail.
These problems are carefully chosen from 3100 problems, some of which
came from the China-U.S. Physics Examination and Application Program,
others were selected from the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination on Experimen-
tal High Energy Physics, sponsored by Chao Chong Ting. The rest came
from the graduate entrance examination questions of seven famous Amer-
ican universities during the last decade; they are: Columbia University,
University of California at Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Princeton University
and State University of New York, Buffalo.
In general, examination problems in physics in American universities
do not involve too much Mathematics; however, they are t o some extent
characterized by the following three aspects: some problems involving vari-
ous frontier subjects and overlapping domains of science are selected by pro-
fessors directly from their own research work and show a “modern style”,
some problems involve a wider field and require a quick mind t o analyse,
and the methods used for solving the other problems are simple and .practi-
cal which shows a full “touch of physics”. From these, we think that these
problems as a whole embody, t o some extent, the characteristics of Ameri-

viii

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