This class will use the theory of statistical mechanics introduced in the Thermal and Statistical Physics 1 to look at a range of physical systems and phenomena. Topics will include:

- general theory of thermodynamic ensembles (including a review of the microcanonical and canonical ensembles, and the introduction of the grand canonical ensemble),

- single particle statistics (the Maxwell-Boltzmann and Planck distributions),

- the behaviour of gases at low temperatures (the different behaviours of Boson and Fermion systems, Bose-Einstein condensation, and the free-electron approximation in conducting solids),

- the low-temperature behaviour of systems with interactions (introducing the idea of quasiparticles through the study of vibrations in solids),

- the theory of phase transitions (including mean-field models and an introduction to the renormalization group).