GATE Physics Syllabus: Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics1. Laws of Thermodynamics- Zeroth law of thermodynamics and concept of thermal equilibrium
- First law of thermodynamics and its applications
- Second law of thermodynamics and its applications
- Carnot cycle and Carnot engine
- Entropy and its properties
2. Thermodynamic Processes- Reversible and irreversible processes
- Isothermal, adiabatic, isobaric, and isochoric processes
- Work done and heat transfer in different processes
- P-V and T-S diagrams
3. Thermodynamic Relations- Maxwell's relations and their applications
- Clapeyron equation and its applications
- Joule-Thomson effect and inversion temperature
4. Thermodynamic Potentials- Internal energy, enthalpy, Helmholtz free energy, and Gibbs free energy
- Maxwell relations for thermodynamic potentials
- Thermodynamic equilibrium and stability conditions
5. Statistical Mechanics- Microscopic and macroscopic approaches in statistical physics
- Microstates, macrostates, and phase space
- Boltzmann statistics and Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution
- Partition function and its properties
- Thermodynamic quantities from partition function
6. Quantum Statistics- Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics
- Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distribution functions
- Fermi energy and Fermi level
- Density of states and energy distribution
- Applications in metals, semiconductors, and insulators
7. Thermodynamics of Blackbody Radiation- Planck's law and blackbody radiation
- Stefan-Boltzmann law and Wien's displacement law
- Energy density and radiation pressure
- Specific heat of blackbody radiation
8. Statistical Physics of Ideal Gases- Ideal gas model and assumptions
- Maxwell speed distribution and mean free path
- Partition function and thermodynamic quantities
- Equipartition theorem and specific heat of gases
- Quantum gases: Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein gases
9. Transport Phenomena- Diffusion, conduction, and viscosity in gases
- Electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity
- Einstein's relation and Onsager relations
- Wiedemann-Franz law and Lorenz number
10. Thermodynamics of Solids- Specific heat of solids and Einstein's model
- Debye's theory of specific heat
- Thermal expansion and thermal conductivity
- Phonons and lattice vibrations
11. Phase Transitions- Phase diagrams and phase transitions
- First-order and second-order phase transitions
- Critical point and critical exponents
- Landau theory of phase transitions
12. Fluctuations and Noise- Fluctuations and correlation functions
- Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributions
- Shot noise and thermal noise
- Nyquist's theorem and Johnson noise
13. Quantum Computing and Information- Quantum bits and quantum gates
- Quantum algorithms and quantum entanglement
- Quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography
- Quantum computing applications
14. Previous Year Questions- Practice solving previous year GATE Physics questions related to thermodynamics and statistical physics.
This course is helpful for the following exams: GATE Physics