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Explaining Gibbsean phase space to second year students

Franz J Vesely

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A new approach to teaching introductory statistical physics is presented. We recommend making extensive use of the fact that even systems with a very few degrees of freedom may display chaotic behaviour. This permits a didactic 'bottom-up' approach, starting out with toy systems whose phase space may be depicted on a screen or blackboard, then proceeding to ever higher dimensions in Gibbsean phase space.


PACS

01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies

05.45.Ac Low-dimensional chaos

Subjects

Education and communication

Statistical physics and nonlinear systems

Dates

Issue 2 (March 2005)

Received 8 October 2004, in final form 1 November 2004

Published 11 January 2005



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