B3.22

Statistical Physics
Part II, 2004

Describe briefly why a low density gas can be investigated using classical statistical mechanics.

Explain why, for a gas of NN structureless atoms, the measure on phase space is

1N!d3Nqd3Np(2π)3N\frac{1}{N !} \frac{d^{3 N} q d^{3 N} p}{(2 \pi \hbar)^{3 N}}

and the probability density in phase space is proportional to

eE(q,p)/Te^{-E(q, p) / T}

where TT is the temperature in energy units.

Derive the Maxwell probability distribution for atomic speeds vv,

ρ(v)=(m2πT)3/24πv2emv2/2T\rho(v)=\left(\frac{m}{2 \pi T}\right)^{3 / 2} 4 \pi v^{2} e^{-m v^{2} / 2 T}

Why is this valid even if the atoms interact?

Find the mean value vˉ\bar{v} of the speed of the atoms.

Is 12m(vˉ)2\frac{1}{2} m(\bar{v})^{2} the mean kinetic energy of the atoms?