Pre-requisites for Statistical Mechanics.

Synopsis

This lecture covers essential concepts in classical mechanics and probability for understanding statistical mechanics.

Lagrangian Formalism

Introduction to the Lagrangian function and the Euler-Lagrange equation, with applications to simple systems.

Hamiltonian Formalism

Discussion of the Hamiltonian. Hamilton’s equations of motion. and phase space formulation.

Probability

Overview of basic probability theory. probability distributions, random variables, and limit theorem..