Physics 4: Thermal Physics

Proof required

Link the public repo with the odd-numbered problems of chapters 1–2 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.

What gets checked

• Temperatures are in kelvin wherever a law needs it.
• The ideal-gas law is used with consistent units.
• Answers are checked against the key, and misses are reworked.

Common mistakes

• Answers copied from the key with no working.
• Wrong units or missing signs.

Powstik Guide

A public write-up of the odd-numbered problems of chapters 1–2, with the self-check shown.

Steps

1. Study the linked course and chapters.
2. Solve the problems on your own first.
3. Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
4. Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
5. Ask someone who knows physics to check it.

README
Physics 4: Thermal Physics, unit 1: Temperature and kinetic theory
Problems:
Self-check result (matched / reworked):
What I got wrong first and why:

What gets sent back

• No working shown.
• The self-check result is missing.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Temperatures are in kelvin wherever a law needs it.
• The ideal-gas law is used with consistent units.
• Answers are checked against the key, and misses are reworked.
• Is the physics right, not just the final number?

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

Proof required

Link the public repo with the odd-numbered problems of chapters 3–4 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.

What gets checked

• Signs of heat and work follow one stated rule.
• Efficiencies never beat the Carnot limit.
• Answers are checked against the key, and misses are reworked.

Common mistakes

• Answers copied from the key with no working.
• Wrong units or missing signs.

Powstik Guide

A public write-up of the odd-numbered problems of chapters 3–4, with the self-check shown.

Steps

1. Study the linked course and chapters.
2. Solve the problems on your own first.
3. Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
4. Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
5. Ask someone who knows physics to check it.

README
Physics 4: Thermal Physics, unit 2: The first and second laws, and entropy
Problems:
Self-check result (matched / reworked):
What I got wrong first and why:

What gets sent back

• No working shown.
• The self-check result is missing.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Signs of heat and work follow one stated rule.
• Efficiencies never beat the Carnot limit.
• Answers are checked against the key, and misses are reworked.
• Is the physics right, not just the final number?

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

Proof required

Link the public repo with the 8.044 problem sets on probability and ensembles written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.

What gets checked

• Probability distributions are normalised.
• Counting of states is shown step by step.
• Each set is marked against its solutions.

Common mistakes

• Answers copied from the key with no working.
• Wrong units or missing signs.

Powstik Guide

A public write-up of the 8.044 problem sets on probability and ensembles, with the self-check shown.

Steps

1. Study the linked course and chapters.
2. Solve the problems on your own first.
3. Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
4. Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
5. Ask someone who knows physics to check it.

README
Physics 4: Thermal Physics, unit 3: Probability and the Boltzmann factor
Problems:
Self-check result (matched / reworked):
What I got wrong first and why:

What gets sent back

• No working shown.
• The self-check result is missing.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Probability distributions are normalised.
• Counting of states is shown step by step.
• Each set is marked against its solutions.
• Is the physics right, not just the final number?

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.

Proof required

Link the public repo with the notebook, the result with its uncertainty, and a README that says what you did and what limits the result.

What gets checked

• Total energy is conserved to a stated accuracy.
• The histogram matches the 2D curve f(v) = (mv/kT)·e^(−mv²/2kT), with a goodness-of-fit number.
• kT from the fit equals the mean kinetic energy per disk (in 2D, ⟨E⟩ = kT), within its uncertainty.

Common mistakes

• A result with no uncertainty.
• Code or data that cannot be rerun from the repo.

Powstik Guide

A notebook that simulates hard disks colliding in a box and shows their speeds settling into the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, in a public repo.

Steps

1. Write down what you expect before you start.
2. Start all disks with the same speed in random directions, run elastic collisions, and compare the speed histogram with the two-dimensional distribution.
3. Work out the uncertainty from your own data.
4. Compare with the accepted value and explain any gap.
5. Write the README and ask someone who knows physics to check it.

README
Physics 4: Thermal Physics — Watch the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution appear
What I expected:
Method:
Result (value ± uncertainty):
Accepted value and comparison:
What limits the result:

What gets sent back

• No uncertainty, or one that is guessed.
• Code that does not run.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Total energy is conserved to a stated accuracy.
• The histogram matches the 2D curve f(v) = (mv/kT)·e^(−mv²/2kT), with a goodness-of-fit number.
• kT from the fit equals the mean kinetic energy per disk (in 2D, ⟨E⟩ = kT), within its uncertainty.
• The uncertainty is worked out from the data or runs (spread of repeats, instrument limits, fit errors or a range of inputs), not guessed, and it is shown on the result.
• Is the physics right, and could someone rerun it from the repo?

You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.