Statistical thermodynamics

Abstract

While Boltzmann did discover the statistical interpretation of entropy, his arguments were pertinent and useful only for systems of independent elements like monatomic ideal gases, or rubber molecules, cf. Chap. 5. In real gases, or liquids, or solids the atoms interact and their statistical treatment requires the statistical thermodynamics of ensembles to which Boltzmann’s ideas were extrapolated.

Statistical thermodynamics succeeds in expressing the thermodynamic equilibrium properties of arbitrary bodies in terms of a single function, the partition function. Most often the partition function cannot be calculated analytically, but it may sometimes be approximated. A case where it can be determined is the case of a hydrogen atom at rest in a heat bath.