Specific heat revisited

The correlation between potential shape and specific heat is generally absent from textbook discussions. We present a detailed analysis of the specific heat contribution due to independent particles subject to one-dimensional classical and quantum model potentials. For the classical models, we use phase space concepts to develop a clear physical interpretation of the temperature dependence of the specific heat. For the quantum models, we make the interpretation in terms of the differences in quantum levels. © 1996 American Association of Physics Teachers.