Statistical mechanics Boltzmann distribution

The Boltzmann distribution is fundamental to statistical mechanics. The Boltzmann distribution is derived by maximising the entropy of the system (in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics) subject to the constraints on the system. Let us consider a system containing N particles (atoms or molecules) such that the energy levels of the... 

This is a law about the equilibrium state, when macroscopic change has ceased it is the state, according to the law, of maximum entropy. It is not really a law about nonequilibrium per se, not in any quantitative sense, although the law does introduce the notion of a nonequilibrium state constrained with respect to structure. By implication, entropy is perfectly well defined in such a nonequilibrium macrostate (otherwise, how could it increase ), and this constrained entropy is less than the equilibrium entropy. Entropy itself is left undefined by the Second Law, and it was only later that Boltzmann provided the physical interpretation of entropy as the number of molecular configurations in a macrostate. This gave birth to his probability distribution and hence to equilibrium statistical mechanics. 

The aim of this section is to give the steady-state probability distribution in phase space. This then provides a basis for nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, just as the Boltzmann distribution is the basis for equilibrium statistical mechanics. The connection with the preceding theory for nonequilibrium thermodynamics will also be given. 

At the same time, Prigogine and his co-workers14 15,17 developed a general theory of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. They derived a non-Markovian evolution equation for the velocity distribution function. Their results contain a generalization of the Boltzmann equation for arbitrary concentration and coupling parameter. This generalization is the long-time limit of their evolution equation. 

Derivation of the Boltzmann distribution function is based on statistical mechanical considerations and requires use of Stirling s approximation and Lagrange s method of undetermined multipliers to arrive at the basic equation, (N,/No) = (g/go)exp[-A Ae/]. The exponential term /3 defines the temperature scale of the Boltzmann function and can be shown to equal t/ksT. In classical mechanics, this distribution is defined by giving values for the coordinates and momenta for each particle in three-coordinate space and the lin-... 

The third point implies that it is possible to develop a physical theory for ionic interactions that is relatively simple and still useful. The most frequently used is the Poisson-Boltzmann (P-B) equation, which combines the Poisson equation from classical electrostatics with the Boltzmann distribution from statistical mechanics. This is a second-order nonlinear differential equation and its solution depends on the geometry and the boundary conditions. 

The next step is to determine the electrical charge and potential distribution in this diffuse region. This is done by using relevant electrostatic and statistical mechanical theories. For a charged planar surface, this problem was solved by Gouy (in 1910) and Chapman (in 1913) by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, the so called Gouy-Chapman (G-C) model. 

In the discussion of many properties of substances it is necessary to know the distribution of atoms or molecules among their various quantum states. An example is the theory of the dielectric constant of a gas of molecules with permanent electric dipole moments, as discussed in Appendix IX. The theory of this distribution constitutes the subject of statistical mechanics, which is presented in many good books.1 In the following paragraphs a brief statement is made about the Boltzmann distribution law, which is a basic theorem in statistical mechanics. 

Statistical mechanics (cf. Chapter 13) suggests an alternative way to extract temperature-like properties from molecular energy distributions. According to the classical Boltzmann distribution law, the number N(E) of molecules having energy E is proportional under equilibrium conditions to the Boltzmann factor eE kT,... 

This fundamental relation is called Boltzmann s distribution law after the creator of statistical mechanics, Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906), Professor of Physics in Leipzig, and k is called Boltzmann s constant. 

In conclusion we must mention that a necessary condition for the validity of Eq, (3), and consequently of other formulas derived from Eq. (3) is that Ni < 1 for the state (or states) of lowest energy and a fortiori for all other states, When this inequality does not hold. Boltzmann s distribution law must be replaced by a more general and more precise distribution law, either that of Fermi and Dirac or that of Bose and Einstein according to the nature of the molecules. See also Statistical Mechanics. 

In the general approach to classical statistical mechanics, each particle is considered to occupy a point in phase space, i.e., to have a definite position and momentum, at a given instant. The probability that the point corresponding to a particle will fall in any small volume of the phase space is taken proportional to die volume. The probability of a specific arrangement of points is proportional to the number of ways that the total ensemble of molecules could be permuted to achieve the arrangement. When this is done, and it is further required that the number of molecules and their total energy remain constant, one can obtain a description of the most probable distribution of the molecules in phase space. Tlie Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law results. 

Many interesting and useful concepts follow from classical statistical con side rations (eg, the Boltzmann distribution law) and their later modifications to take into account quantum mechanical effects (Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics). These concepts are quite beyond the scope of the present article, and the reader should consult Refs 14 16. A brief excursion into this area is appropriate, however. A very useful concept is the so-called partition function, Z, which is defined as ... 

Statistical mechanics gives the relation between microscopic information such as quantum mechanical energy levels and macroscopic properties. Some important statistical mechanical concepts and results are summarized in Appendix A. Here we will briefly review one central result the Boltzmann distribution for thermal equilibrium. 

We now proceed to develop a specific expression for the rate constant for reactants where the velocity distributions /a( )(va) and /B(J)(vB) for the translational motion are independent of the internal quantum state (i and j) and correspond to thermal equilibrium.4 Then, according to the kinetic theory of gases or statistical mechanics, see Appendix A.2.1, Eq. (A.65), the velocity distributions associated with the center-of-mass motion of molecules are the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, a special case of the general Boltzmann distribution law ... 

Not to be forgotten is the assumption that neither the presence of the electrolyte nor the interface itself changes the dielectric medium properties of the aqueous phase. It is assumed to behave as a dielectric continuum with a constant relative dielectric permittivity equal to the value of the bulk phase. The electrolyte is presumed to be made up of point charges, i.e. ions with no size, and responds to the presence of the charged interface in a competitive way described by statistical mechanics. Counterions are drawn to the surface by electrostatic attraction while thermal fluctuations tend to disperse them into solution, surface co-ions are repelled electrostatically and also tend to be dispersed by thermal motion, but are attracted to the accumulated cluster of counterions found near the surface. The end result of this electrical-thermodynamic conflict is an ion distribution which can be represented (approximately) by a Boltzmann distribution dependent on the average electrostatic potential at an arbitrary point multiplied by the valency of individual species, v/. 

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