Gaussian distribution intermolecular distances

The way forward was proposed by Berne and Pechukas [11] many years later. Their important idea was to consider the overlap between two prolate ellipsoidal gaussian distributions. From the expression for this overlap they evaluated a range parameter which was taken to be the contact distance g and a strength parameter which was set equal to the well depth, e. If the orientations of the two rod-like molecules in the laboratory frame are represented by the unit vectors Ui and Uj and the orientation of the intermolecular vector by the unit vector f then the expression for the angular dependence of the contact distance is... 

FIGURE 1.1.13 Evolution of the hole mobility as a function of the width of the Gaussian distribution of the intermolecular distances in the one-dimensional array of pentacene molecules. 

Intermolecular collisions do not cause large deviations from the ideal gas law at STP for molecules such as N2 or He, which are well above their boiling points, but they do dramatically decrease the average distance molecules travel to a number which is far less than would be predicted from the average molecular speed. Collisions randomize the velocity vector many times in the nominal round trip time, leading to diffusional effects as discussed in Chapter 4. If all of the molecules start at time t = 0 at the position x = 0, the concentration distribution C(x,t) at later times is a Gaussian ... 

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