Microscopic Theory of Transport
This MIT OCW graduate course examines transport phenomena, the movement of mass, momentum, and energy, from a molecular and statistical mechanics viewpoint rather than the usual continuum approach. Topics include kinetic theory, the Boltzmann equation, linear response and fluctuation-dissipation relations, hydrodynamic limits, and how microscopic models connect to macroscopic transport coefficients like viscosity and thermal conductivity. The course covers theory and models alongside computational and simulation methods, showing how micro and macro descriptions couple together, and touches on current research questions in the field. Materials come from MIT's Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and include lecture notes and problem sets, following the standard OpenCourseWare format of free, self-paced study without formal enrollment or certificate. It suits students and researchers across physics, chemistry, and engineering who want a rigorous molecular-level grounding in transport phenomena that cuts across disciplinary boundaries.