Spring 2027

Thermal Physics

Thermal Physics introduces thermodynamics and statistical mechanics from a physics perspective, covering phase equilibrium, kinetic theory, and classical and quantum statistical mechanics.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Joshua Foster

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Alex Levchenko

One student described the course as heavily theoretical, noting it was 90% analysis and required strong math skills to succeed with the homework.

What you’ll be able to do

  • use aspects of probability and statistics to describe the basic thermodynamic properties of macroscopic systems, and interactions between systems

  • use the principles of statistical analysis to explain equilibrium between systems, and thermodynamic reservoirs

  • use macroscopic system parameters to calculate general properties of homogeneous systems using Maxwell relations

  • explain and use the canonical distribution to calculate the properties of systems in contact with a heat reservoir

  • use the partition function approach to calculate properties of systems.

  • calculate the properties of systems undergoing phase transitions

  • use quantum statistics to calculate the properties of non-interacting quantum systems

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
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F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(PHYSICS 205, 241, 249, or PHYSICS/​E C E 235) and PHYSICS 311, or graduate/professional standing

PHYSICS 415

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

MARK ERIKSSON is recorded teaching in Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARK RZCHOWSKI is recorded teaching in Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

STEFAN WESTERHOFF is recorded teaching in Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

VLADIMIR ZHDANKIN is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 600
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 300

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Vladimir Zhdankin

Recent students found Vladimir Zhdankin’s lectures clear and well-planned, with helpful notes and practice exams that prepared them well for assessments.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.16 GPA, 50.9% A/AB (n=57 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.12 GPA, 43.9% A/AB (n=41 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.14 GPA, 47.8% A/AB (n=46 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Alex Levchenko

One student described the course as heavily theoretical, noting it was 90% analysis and required strong math skills to succeed with the homework.

Past student reviews · Vladimir Zhdankin

Students appreciated that Professor Zhdankin posted helpful lecture notes and provided a practice exam of similar difficulty to the actual tests, making the process feel reasonable.

Topics

  • Thermodynamics
  • Statistical mechanics
  • Phase equilibrium
  • Kinetic theory of gases
  • Classical and quantum statistical mechanics

Skills

  • Use probability and statistics to describe thermodynamic properties of macroscopic systems.
  • Calculate properties of homogeneous systems using Maxwell relations.
  • Apply the canonical distribution to calculate system properties in contact with a heat reservoir.
  • Use quantum statistics to calculate properties of non-interacting quantum systems.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
PHYSICS 415 · Spring 2027

Thermal Physics

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:754:015627",
    "course_id": "PHYSICS 415",
    "course_uid": "course_d1341e0b9824e63e21c5b17b",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "015627",
    "source_subject_id": "754",
    "title": "Thermal Physics",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "4081103680eed373a9f579201f5b241e2dd01dd121acb0384f5239aed335e092",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}