CLASSES AND TUTORIALS
Alexander Schekochihin
Papers CP3 (1st year), A1 (2nd year)
Michaelmas Term 2025
| NOTES: Your classes will mostly be on Fridays and the corresponding problem sheets will be due on Sunday night following the class (except if indicated otherwise below), with follow-up tutes the week after. I suggest that you attempt the problem sheets before the class, so we could deal with some of the arising problems in class. If you do not do that, it may turn out to be difficult for you to finish your homework on time. Please turn in all your homework by placing it in your personal Dropbox folder. Rocky Yu will be helping me with the marking of CP3 this year and Aikya Banerjee with A1. Rocky, Aikya, and I cannot guarantee that work that is turned in late will be looked at. I will place the marked version of your work back in your Dropbox folder. Please make notes for yourselves while doing the homeworks to make sure you have a plan for what to discuss during the tutes. Note that Rocky and Aikya also serve as a graduate mentors and you are encouraged to seek appointments with them (although it is not guaranteed that they will have time for you in any given week) --- if after the tutes you are still having difficulties with the material. There are other graduate mentors available, listed here. CP3: Half of the classes and tutorials will be given by Prof Christopher Ramsey. Please arrange your schedule (and process for turning in homework) with him directly. |
|
 A sketch of students (or, perhaps, fellows) in a manuscript of William of Ockham's commentary on Aristotle's Physics (MS293 from the Merton College library, image courtesy of J. Walwarth). |
CP3:
Problem Sheets for MT-24 (these are in
fact from MT-22 and may be updated in real time)
CP3: Andre Lukas's Problem Sets for V&M (this is the MT-17 version; John Magorrian was using the same problem sets and so shall we)
CP3: My 2021-22 Lecture Notes and Problem Sets on ODEs (still in use this year by the current lecturer, Bence Kocsis)
Pre-2013 Merton Maths questions (the V&M questions can be used for revision; others are mostly the same as in the new sheets)
My Lecture Notes on Dimensional Analysis (2011)
Richard Fern's typed, improved version of these notes (2015)
A1: Problem Sheets on Thermodynamics for MT-24 (updated 8.11.24)
A1: Julien Devriendt's Lecture Notes on Thermodynamics from last year's course
A1: My Lecture Notes on Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics for 2nd year (updated in real time, check back!)
If you would like to try your hand at more advanced material (or just extra material), the following two books proved a great success in David Hosking's lockdown tutorials with 2nd years in TT-20 (if you want a copy, drop me a line):
CP3: Andre Lukas's Problem Sets for V&M (this is the MT-17 version; John Magorrian was using the same problem sets and so shall we)
CP3: My 2021-22 Lecture Notes and Problem Sets on ODEs (still in use this year by the current lecturer, Bence Kocsis)
Pre-2013 Merton Maths questions (the V&M questions can be used for revision; others are mostly the same as in the new sheets)
My Lecture Notes on Dimensional Analysis (2011)
Richard Fern's typed, improved version of these notes (2015)
A1: Problem Sheets on Thermodynamics for MT-24 (updated 8.11.24)
A1: Julien Devriendt's Lecture Notes on Thermodynamics from last year's course
A1: My Lecture Notes on Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics for 2nd year (updated in real time, check back!)
If you would like to try your hand at more advanced material (or just extra material), the following two books proved a great success in David Hosking's lockdown tutorials with 2nd years in TT-20 (if you want a copy, drop me a line):
- R. Kubo, Thermodynamics: An Advanced Course with Problems and Solutions (N. Holland 1968) --- Chapters 1-3 are relevant to this term's course
- R. Kubo, Statistical Mechanics: An Advanced Course with Problems and Solutions (N. Holland 1965) --- this is mostly HT-22 material, but Kinetic Theory is in Chapter 6
If any of the 2nd years are sufficiently
fascinated by Kinetic Theory to want to study ahead, and at
a higher level, you are welcome to attend the MMathPhys
Kinetic Theory course. It is a 4th-year course, but
the only "advanced" maths it uses are Laplace and Fourier
transforms, so if you have done SO-1 you should be fine
(although the pace might be quite brisk and you might
encounter some allusions to as yet unfamiliar physics
material, so if it proves inaccessible, just drop it).
| Week |
Date |
Time |
Place |
Year |
Class/Tute |
Notes |
| II |
Mon
20 Oct |
17:00-19:00 | Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Class-0 |
Dimensional Analysis |
| Wed 22 Oct |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-1: |
Vacation
Work or any other questions; also have the Dimensional Analysis homework ready with you Vacation Work is due immediately upon your arrival in week 0 |
|
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-1: |
|||
| Thu 23 Oct |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-1: |
||
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-1: |
|||
| Fri 24 Oct |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Class-1 |
MT-2 (look at it it before class, prepare questions) Differentiation & integration Gaussian integrals Language of vector spaces Einstein notation NB: read sec 1, 2.1 and 2.2 from A. Lukas's notes! |
|
| III |
Wed 29 Oct | 17:00-18:00 | Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-2: | MT-2 due Sun
26 Oct at 23:59 to Dropbox |
| 18:00-19:00 | Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-2: |
|||
| Sat 1 Nov |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-2: | ||
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-2: |
|||
| Thu 30 Oct |
17:00 |
TS Eliot LT | All |
OCCAM LECTURE | Prof Myles Allen |
|
| Fri 31 Oct |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Class-2 |
MT-3 (look at it it before class, prepare questions) Curves, line integrals Vector geometry NB: read sec 2.3 from A. Lukas's notes! 1st-order ODEs [Tutorials on this material will be held by Prof Ramsey] |
|
| IV |
Fri 7 Nov |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Stat Phys Class-1 | Intro to thermodynamics Please read through your lecture notes before class: do you understand the construction of thermodynamics? Some good reads: Kardar, Ford, and Tong (see links in my lecture notes) Look at Problem Set 1 before class |
| V |
Fri 14 Nov |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Stat Phys Class-2 | Thermodynamics cont'd (entropy etc) Problem Set 1 due Sun 9 Nov 23:59 to Dropbox Look at Problem Set 2 before class |
| VI |
Wed 19 Nov |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 | 2 |
Tute-1: Seb Maslanek & Deevam Sharma | Problem
Set 2 due Sun 16 Nov 23:59 to Dropbox In tute, we'll discuss PS-1,2 + any conceptual issues you care to raise |
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 | 2 |
Tute-1: Paulius Kalinauskas & Haotian Wang | |||
| Thu 20 Nov |
17:00-18:00 | Grove 1.8 | 2 |
Tute-1: Ethan Kelvin & Sophie Neville | ||
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Tute-1: Tabitha Shearer & Nell Wheeler | |||
| Fri 21 Nov |
17:00-19:00 | Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Class-3 |
MT-6 (look at it it before class, prepare questions) 1st-order ODEs (advanced) Scalar products, rotation, orthogonal bases 2nd-order ODEs |
|
| Sat 22 Nov |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Stat Phys Class-3 | Intro to kinetics; effusion Kinetics of Brownian particles Try Problem Set 3 before class! |
|
| VII |
Wed 26 Nov | 17:00-18:00 | Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-3: | MT-6
due Sun 23 Nov 23:59 to Dropbox |
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-3: |
|||
| Thu 27 Nov | 17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-3: | ||
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-3: |
|||
| Fri 28 Nov |
17:00-19:00 | Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Class-4 | MT-7 (look at it it before class, prepare questions) 2nd-order ODEs: inhomogeneous Quasipolynomials Systems of ODEs Rapidly oscillating force |
|
| Sat 29 Nov |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Tute-2: Seb Maslanek & Deevam Sharma | Problem Set 3 due Tue 25 Nov 23:59 to Dropbox |
|
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Tute-2: Paulius Kalinauskas & Haotian Wang | |||
| Sun 30 Nov |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Tute-2: Ethan Kelvin & Sophie Neville | ||
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 | 2 |
Tute-2: Tabitha Shearer & Nell Wheeler | |||
| VIII |
Tue 2 Dec |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
2 |
Stat Phys Class-4 | Collisions and transport Look at Problem Set 4 before class! |
| Wed 3 Dec |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-4: | MT-7
due Sun 30 Nov 23:59 to Dropbox |
|
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-4: | |||
| Thu 4 Dec |
17:00-18:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-4: | ||
| 18:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Tute-4: | |||
| Fri 5 Dec |
17:00-19:00 |
Grove 1.8 |
1 |
Class-5 |
MT-8 (look at it it before class, prepare questions) Systems of linear ODEs |
|
| 1 |
Vacation work: MT-8 |
Tute in HT-2026 |
||||
| 2 |
Vacation
work:
Problem Set 4 |
Tute in HT-2026 |