Thermo and Intro to Stat Mech 2019

Homework assignment 1

Reading assignment: Chapter 1 in the textbook by Blundell and Blundell.

Problem 1:
What is the probability that all 13 cards on a hand (in bridge for example) are of the
same kind, for example all spades?

Problem 2:
Consider an ideal gas in a box consisting of n molecules. What is the probability that
all the molecules will be found in one half of the box? Evaluate the answer for n = 100.
What if n is Avogadro’s number?

Problem 3:
Compare the exact value of n! and the Stirling approximation (try both eqn. 1.17 and
C.19 and compare) for n = 10, 20, and 100. Evaluate the relative error in all six cases.

Problem 4:
Consider the binary model with four sites, n = 4. This could for example represent a
small cluster of atoms with four spins.
(a) Write down symbolically with arrows up and down all the possible arrangements of
the four spins.
(b) What is the total number of different arrangements of the four spins (the number of
microstates)?
(c) When a magnetic field is applied, the energy of the system depends on the total spin,

U = −2smB

where 2s is the excess spin (2s = n↑ − n↓ ), m is the magnetic moment of one spin and
B is the magnetic field. Sketch an energy diagram showing the number of energy levels
(macrostates) and the arrangements of spins that correspond to each level.
(d) How many arrangements of the spins correspond to each of the energy levels (the
multiplicity or degeneracy of the levels)?
(e) Evaluate the appropriate binomial coefficients,
 
n!
(n − r)!r!

for each one of the energy levels and compare with your answer in part (d).
(f) Sketch a histogram of the multiplicity vs. excess spin, 2s.
(g) Use the approximate formula for the multiplicity function (see problem 5)
p
Ω(n, r) = g(n, s) ≈ 2/nπ 2n exp (−2s2 /n)

where s ≡ r − n2 , to estimate the multiplicity of each energy level and compare with
your results in part (d). You will find significant deviations. Why is that? (Note: The
derivation of this expression relies on the Stirling approximation and a Taylor expansion
of the logarithm).

Problem 5:
Derivation of the multiplicity function, g(n, s) = Ω(n, r) where s ≡ r − n2 .
(a) Start with the expression for the number of ways that r spins out of a total of n
can be arranged to point up Ω(n, r), eqn. (1.14). Apply the logarithm and use Stirling
approximation, eqn. C.20, to obtain an approximate expression for ln Ω(n, r).
(b) Introduce the variable s, defined above, that is the number of up spins in excess of
n/2, and use a second order Taylor expansion ln(1 + 2s/n) ≈ 2s/n − 2(s/n)2 to simplify
the resulting expression for ln g(n, s).
(c) Exponentiate the result from (b) to obtain the exponential factor in the equation given
in problem 4(g) above.
(d) Use the fact that g(n, s) should be normalized to obtain the pre-exponential factor in
the equation given in problem 4(g) above.