All Questions
Tagged with equilibrium statistical-mechanics
133
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Equilibrium in physics
We know that harmonic oscillator or pendulum will not reach a equilibrium at infinite time. But why a system of gas molecules reaches equilibrium (entropy of an isolated system will tend to increase ...
- 33
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70
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Intuition for imaginary time Greens function
I understand that $$G^M(0,0^+) = \operatorname{tr}\{\rho O_2 O_1\}$$ (I am not putting hats on the operators here because they don't render in the correct position) is simply the expectation value of ...
- 21
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Why must solids in equilibrium become crystalline?
In Landau's Statistical Physics's analysis of solids, he begins with the remark that solids are caracterized by their atoms' small oscillations about equilibrium positions. However, he states that ...
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Apparent inconsistency with Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution
The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution for the kinetic energies of particles is given as ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%E2%80%93Boltzmann_distribution#Distribution_for_the_energy )
$$f(E) = 2 \...
- 2,712
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Regarding the relation between statistical equilibrium and thermal equilibrium
I've seen a similar set of questions on the topic in SE but none seem to satisfy me.So,the question is as follows:1)What is the relation between thermodynamic equilibrium and statistical equilibrium ...
- 109
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Chemical equilibrium for distinguishable reactant particles
Denote the partition function of a single particle by $\zeta$. The particles of one type of reactant in a chemical reaction are normally indistinguishable. The partition function of $n$ number of a ...
- 1,030
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141
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Entropy variables
When we are defining the entropy we have been used two isolated system not a heat bath with a small system, to ensure that entropy is defined as an energy variable dependent. My question why is the ...
- 41
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Mechanical Equilibrium and Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
While reading Kardar's 'Statistical Physics of Particles', in section explaining Zeroth law of Thermodynamics, Kardar claims that each of the system's i.e A & B , B & C are assumed to be ...
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Entropy and uncertainty principle
I know that entropy depends on the total energy of a system. In the energy-time uncertainty, howeve, energy can be uncertain for an amount of time which is related to the uncertainty of energy by ...
- 468
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Show that equal pressure is the maximum entropy state
Some introduction and background
Consider a thermally insulated reservoir filled with some gas. The reservoir is divided in two by a fixed, thermally conducting wall. Initially, the first compartment ...
- 1,006
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Difference between thermodynamical, statistical, and dynamical equilibrium
I have two related questions concerning the difference between thermodynamic, statistical mechanical, and dynamical equilibrium. In particular, I am thinking about the statistical physics of galaxies, ...
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140
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System in thermal equilibrium with reservoir
Let's say I was trying to build Statistical Mechanics from scratch. I had studied the microcanonical ensemble and made the following definitions:
$$\frac{\partial S}{\partial E} = \frac{1}{T},$$
$$\...
- 2,599
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Confusion about thermodynamic equilibrium
I’m studying thermodynamics and statistical mechanics from the book by Kerson Huang. I’m having a conceptual difficulty with the notion of thermodynamic equilibrium.
At the beginning of the first ...
- 351
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Different definitions of equilibrium in statistical mechanics
Statistical mechanics tries to predict macroscopic behavior of a thermodynamic system from microscopic considerations. Suppose we are dealing with system with phase space $\Gamma = (\Lambda \times \...
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What maximizes entropy? [duplicate]
Liouville theorem states that the phase space distribution function of a system remains unchanged with the system evolution,
$$
\frac{\text{d}\rho}{\text{d}t}=\frac{\partial \rho}{\partial t}+\sum_{i=...
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