F. Herrmann and P. Wurfel, Am. J. Phys., 73 (8), 717-721 (2005).
Thermodynamic states and processes involving light are discussed in which the chemical potential of light is nonzero. Light with nonzero chemical potential is produced in…
R. Baierlein, Am. J. Phys., 69 (4), 423-434 (2000).
The author offers some qualitative understanding of the chemical potential, a topic that students invariably find difficult. Three "meanings" for the chemical potential are stated…
C. Kittel, Am. J. Phys., 35 (6), 483-487 (1967).
A large class of problems in statistical physics becomes much simpler when treated by means of the chemical potential. In this paper the chemical potential is applied to eight…
T. Smith, J. Thompson, and D. Mountcastle, PERC 2010 Proceedings, 305-308.
As part of research into student understanding of topics related to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics at the upper division, we have identified student difficulties in…
