Specialization Statistical Thermodynamics

This specialisation has been designed for senior mechanical or aerospace engineering undergraduates or postgraduates who already have a strong background in engineering thermodynamics and are ready to study the fundamentals of the subject. It is aimed at those entering advanced fields such as combustion, high-temperature gas dynamics, environmental science or materials processing, or wishing to establish a foundation for understanding advanced experimental diagnostic techniques in these or similar fields. The course examines the relationship between macroscopic and microscopic thermodynamics and derives the properties of gases, liquids and solids. The book also examines nonequilibrium behaviour as it manifests itself in kinetic theory and chemical kinetics. The main innovation is the use of a postulate approach to introduce fundamental concepts and a very clear connection between macroscopic and microscopic thermodynamics. By introducing the main ideas using postulates, students have a very simple way of thinking about important concepts including entropy and temperature, ensembles and quantum mechanics. Applied learning project Assessment for the five courses in this specialization will be conducted using short, automatically graded problem sets that test mastery of the content presented in the videos. Students will also be asked to submit problems without a clear solution method for review and to solve other problems on discussion boards. Note that many of the problems will require data that is included in my textbook but can also be found online or in course resources.