PHYC20030 Thermal Physics and Materials
Thermal Physics is concerned with the study of the properties of systems containing a large number of particles. Materials physics is concerned with describing the mechanical properties of bulk objects. This module will introduce the student to the basic concepts of thermodynamics and apply them to the study of a number of relevant physical systems from both a macroscopic and microscopic point of view. In doing so, the connection between the bulk properties of matter and the mechanics of atoms and molecules will be derived. In the first part of the course, emphasis will be given to the concepts of temperature and thermal equilibrium, the first law of thermodynamics, entropy and the second law of thermodynamics, and the kinetic theory of gases. In the second part, the material properties of solids will be investigated. This includes concepts such as interatomic forces and bonding, elasticity and the stress and strain of materials.
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REVIEWSMODULE INFO
i actually really enjoyed the lectures, the content was well-taught. the only thing that brought my grade down a bit was the fact that you need to do some of the labs before you learn the concept in class but i understand that that is just a scheduling issue since it's hard to accommodate every in 1st and 2nd year to do labs at the same time. would still recommend anyway though
If you like thermal and not maths, then yes. Nice module, interesting content.
I would recommend, even just for Tom McCormack's lectures. The module content is interesting and the labs aren't too bad.
there are a good few labs which can take up a large someone's timetable.