Experimental verification of the Maxwell distribution law

The amount of indirect evidence for the correctness of the Maxwell distribution law is overwhelming. The relationship of the distribution law to the rate of a chemical reaction has already been mentioned briefly (Section 4.10). We shall see later that the functional f orm of the experimentally determined temperature dependence of the rate constant agrees with the dependence we expect from the Maxwell distribution. This agreement may be regarded as indirect evidence for the correctness of both the Maxwell distribution and our ideas concerning reaction rates. 

Suppose for the sake of argument that speeds were not distributed and that all the molecules moved with the same velocity. Now consider the effect of a gravity field on such a gas. If at ground level all the molecules had the same vertical component of velocity W then all would have a kinetic energy The maximum height any molecule could reach 

A number of direct experimental determinations of the velocity distribution have been made, all of which have verified the Maxwell law within the experimental error. A sketch of the apparatus used in one method is shown in Fig. 4.14. The apparatus is entirely 

2 What is the kinetic theory explanation of the ideal gas law dependence p cc 

3 Give a kinetic interpretation of why p for 1 mole of gaseous O2 molecules is one-half that for 2 moles of gaseous O atoms at a given T and V. 

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