B1.22
Part II, 2004
Define the notions of entropy and thermodynamic temperature for a gas of particles in a variable volume . Derive the fundamental relation
The free energy of the gas is defined as . Why is it convenient to regard as a function of and ? By considering , or otherwise, show that
Deduce that the entropy of an ideal gas, whose equation of state is (using energy units), has the form
where is independent of and .
Show that if the gas is in contact with a heat bath at temperature , then the probability of finding the gas in a particular quantum microstate of energy is