Questions tagged [statistical-mechanics]
The statistical-mechanics tag has no usage guidance.
23 questions
3
votes
0
answers
62
views
Did Democritus predict atoms using sharp phase transitions
In the Wikipedia page for the Ising Model it is written without citations:
One of Democritus' arguments in support of atomism was that atoms
naturally explain the sharp phase boundaries observed in
...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
228
views
What is the origin of the name "degeneracy" pressure and "degenerate" Fermi gas?
What is the origin of the name "degeneracy" pressure and "degenerate" Fermi gas?
I was trying to find the first paper that used the term "degenerate/degeneracy" to ...
- 23
4
votes
1
answer
214
views
Einstein's Objection to Drude Model
In Walter Isaacson's Biography of Einstein, it is stated that the young Einstein was developing his own ideas in Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics and he had found some error in Drude's model for ...
- 163
3
votes
0
answers
113
views
What was Boltzmann's contribution to the theory of "statistical ensemble"?
In the book "Ludwig Boltzmann, the man who trusted atoms"by C.Cercignani, I read about the thesis according to which it was Boltzmann, not Gibbs who first introduced the concept of "...
user13853
2
votes
1
answer
126
views
What is the difference between Einstein's and Boltzmann's definitions of probability?
In the Einstein's 1905 paper on light quanta, he wrote the following about Boltzmann's notion of probability:
The word probability is used in a sense that does not confirm to its definition as it ...
user13853
2
votes
1
answer
190
views
What did people understand heat and temperature to be in Clausius' time?
I just took a read of Clausius' original writing from 1867 on the second law. He refers to the "unit of heat" as "that amount of heat which is required to increase the temperature of unit-weight of ...
- 193
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is the etymology of "phase space" of a dynamical system?
The state space of a dynamical system is often called a "phase space". What is the etymology of this?
(Note that I'm not asking about the history of the concept, but rather about the history of the ...
- 181
2
votes
1
answer
309
views
Why is the H theorem called the big Eta theorem?
In France, they refer to the H-theorem of Boltzmann (Théorème H) as 'eta'-theorem (théorème 'eta'). The connection obviously comes from the uppercase version of the Greek letter $\eta$, which looks ...
- 5,381
1
vote
1
answer
107
views
Distinguishability of particles in statistical mechanics
Historically,how,and by what experiments,the concept of identical and distinguishable particles was discovered?Is it a tagline set by scientists,or nature indeed works in this way?
- 205
2
votes
1
answer
874
views
Why are microcanonical, canonical and macrocanonical ensembles called that way?
In statistical mechanics, why microcanonical, canonical and macrocanonical ensemble are called that way?
Is there any reason according to the size of the system they can describe properly ( I don't ...
- 123
4
votes
3
answers
522
views
Did Maxwell discover the distribution of velocities in a gas during an exam set by Stokes?
In some lecture notes I found online it was claimed that Maxwell discovered the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution while in the course of solving a (then unsolved) examination problem given by Stokes. The ...
- 233
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
When did the name “Boltzmann constant” prevail, and how?
This question is prompted by (comments at) another one. There, I was surprised to find that despite traditional claims to the contrary, Boltzmann himself did once write his formula $S=k\log W$:
$\...
- 7,809
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Interpretation of $W$ in Boltzmann's entropy formula
Background
In the famous Boltzmann's entropy formula, carved in the physicist's tombstone, a mysterious quantity $W$ appears (a):
$$S=k_B \log W\label{1}\tag{1}$$
We often hear that $W$ represents "...
- 365
6
votes
2
answers
620
views
History of XY model - Plane Rotator model
I would like to find out more about the history of the XY model. While for the Ising and Potts model it is easy to find information, it's quite difficult for me to understand when and where the XY ...
- 121
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Who introduced the partition function?
Is it by Gibbs? Or Boltzmann? I do not expect Maxwell. The point is, how was the textbook introduction of partition function today developed.
- 540
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
Origin of diagrammatics illustrating the relation between cumulants and moments?
The exponential-log transformation of exponential generating functions (see OEIS A036040 and A127671) relate the classical cumulants to their associated moments.
Who were some of the first to ...
- 840
1
vote
0
answers
66
views
Why are Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs) named after Bose and Einstein?
Why are Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs) named after Bose and Einstein? What did Einstein contribute to BECs?
- 5,419
3
votes
1
answer
150
views
Who was the first to prove the Boltzman H-theorem for the Landau kinetic equation?
Who has proved Boltzmann's H-theorem (which tells that entropy of a closed system grows as the system approaches thermal equilibrium) for the kinetic equation with Landau collisions operator? One ...
- 151
1
vote
0
answers
9
views
Who was first to prove the Boltzman H-theorem for the Landau kinetic equation? [duplicate]
Who has proved Boltzmann's H-theorem (which tells that entropy of a closed system grows as the system approaches thermal equilibrium) for the kinetic equation with Landau collisions operator? One ...
- 151
15
votes
2
answers
730
views
Historical Survey of Statistical Mechanics
Statistical mechanics is a subject with a particularly rich history. I think of the early debates of Boltzmann and Loschmidt, the rather confusing differences between the approaches of Gibbs and ...
- 251
7
votes
1
answer
663
views
Who named the fugacity, who coined the variable name and did it already relate to complex analysis?
In Riemanns monumental paper, he expresses a prime counting function as an inverse Mellin transform of the log of the function he analytically continued into the complex plane
$$\Pi(x) = \frac{1}{2\...
- 211
17
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What became of the Boltzmann-Zermelo debate about the second law of thermodynamics?
At the end of 19th century there was a lively discussion about the nature of the second law of thermodynamics, and its relation to Hamiltonian dynamics. Boltzmann developed a position that the second ...
- 80k
30
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What were the dominant non-atomic theories of matter in the 19th century?
From what I have read, the atomic theory of matter was cemented by a 1905 paper by Einstein in which he explained the erratic motion of a bit of pollen suspended in water using the assumption that ...
- 1,041