B3.22
Part II, 2004
Describe briefly why a low density gas can be investigated using classical statistical mechanics.
Explain why, for a gas of structureless atoms, the measure on phase space is
and the probability density in phase space is proportional to
where is the temperature in energy units.
Derive the Maxwell probability distribution for atomic speeds ,
Why is this valid even if the atoms interact?
Find the mean value of the speed of the atoms.
Is the mean kinetic energy of the atoms?