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Lecture 19: Symmetries, Order Parameters, and the Failure of Reductionism

Published on Aug 21, 2007 in Education > Formal Education

Thermal and Statistical Physics

Thermal and Statistical Physics

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Lecture 6:  Ideal Gas Law, Planck Blackbody Radiation

Lecture 6: Ideal Gas Law, Planc...

September 09, 2007

Lecture 2: Multiplicity Function

Lecture 2: Multiplicity Function

September 09, 2007

Final Review 2

Final Review 2

August 21, 2007

Final Review 1

Final Review 1

August 21, 2007

Lecture 24:  Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem

Lecture 24: Fluctuation-Dissipa...

August 21, 2007

Lecture23: Brownian Motion and Diffusion

Lecture23: Brownian Motion and D...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 22: Nucleation in First Order (Abrupt) Phase Transitions

Lecture 22: Nucleation in First ...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 21:  Alloys, Mixing, and Phase Separation

Lecture 21: Alloys, Mixing, and...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 20:  Landau Theory of Phase Transitions; Oil, Water, and Alloys

Lecture 20: Landau Theory of Ph...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 19:  Symmetries, Order Parameters, and the Failure of Reductionism

Lecture 19: Symmetries, Order P...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 18:  Van Der Waals and Geckos

Lecture 18: Van Der Waals and G...

August 21, 2007

Final Review 2

Final Review 2

August 21, 2007

Final Review 1

Final Review 1

August 21, 2007

Lecture 24:  Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem

Lecture 24: Fluctuation-Dissipa...

August 21, 2007

Lecture23: Brownian Motion and Diffusion

Lecture23: Brownian Motion and D...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 22: Nucleation in First Order (Abrupt) Phase Transitions

Lecture 22: Nucleation in First ...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 21:  Alloys, Mixing, and Phase Separation

Lecture 21: Alloys, Mixing, and...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 20:  Landau Theory of Phase Transitions; Oil, Water, and Alloys

Lecture 20: Landau Theory of Ph...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 19:  Symmetries, Order Parameters, and the Failure of Reductionism

Lecture 19: Symmetries, Order P...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 18:  Van Der Waals and Geckos

Lecture 18: Van Der Waals and G...

August 21, 2007

Lecture 1:  Accessible States

Lecture 1: Accessible States

August 22, 2006

Lecture 17: Introduction to Phase Transitions

Lecture 17: Introduction to Phas...

August 21, 2006

Lecture 16: Gibbs Free Energy and Chemical Reactions

Lecture 16: Gibbs Free Energy an...

August 21, 2006

Lecture 15: Refrigerators and Path Dependence of Work

Lecture 15: Refrigerators and Pa...

August 21, 2006

Midterm Review

Midterm Review

August 21, 2006

Lecture 14: Engines

Lecture 14: Engines

August 21, 2006

Lecture 13: Bose Condensates

Lecture 13: Bose Condensates

August 21, 2006

Lecture 12: Reversible and Irreversible Expansions

Lecture 12: Reversible and Irrev...

August 21, 2006

Lecture 11: Bose Gas and Ideal Gas

Lecture 11: Bose Gas and Ideal Gas

August 21, 2006

Lecture 10:  Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function

Lecture 10: Fermi-Dirac Distrib...

August 21, 2006

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We finish the van der Waals equation of state, and use it to illustrate the liquid-gas phase transition. It turns out that at low pressure, the van... More

We finish the van der Waals equation of state, and use it to illustrate the liquid-gas phase transition. It turns out that at low pressure, the van der Waals equation of state has a wiggle where (dp/pV)0. Since this would cause an explosion, the system instead undergoes phase separation so that part of the container has liquid, and part has gas in it. More is different: We discuss the failure of reductionism. Reductionism is the idea that you will learn everything about an object by breaking it into its smallest bits -- like atoms, then electrons and protons, then quarks, then strings. But large collections of particles (like liquids, gases, and solids) have many properties which aren't really due to their constituents per se, but rather are due to larger organizing principles, and the symmetry of the associated phase. Example: All solids are hard, even though they're made out of different substances. So the property "hardness" is not actually caused by the particular form of the potentials for the particular atoms in that solid. Rather, it's due to the symmetry of the regular crystalline structure the atoms take, and is independent of the type of atom. To illustrate, we discuss several phases of matter, and identify the corresponding "order parameter", which is a measurable quantity that captures the symmetry of the phase. Visual Aids: Rotini pasta to demonstrate twisted nematic phases. Specimens from my rock collection: quartz, amethyst, hematite, and others to see how all crystals are similar, despite being made from different atoms. The "sameness" manifests itself in the basic property of a solid: being hard. The "differenc" manifests itself in color, and in the shape of the crystals, which reveal the underlying quantum mechanics of how the chemical bonds form from atom to atom. Plus, the return of the squishy crystal to illustrate phonons. 0 Lecture Audio Less

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