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Encyclopedia > Microstate (statistical mechanics)

In statistical mechanics, a microstate describes a specific detailed microscopic configuration of a system, that the system visits in the course of its thermal fluctuations. Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... In thermodynamics, temperature is the physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold —something that is hotter has the greater temperature. ...


In contrast, the macrostate of a system refers to its macroscopic properties such as its temperature and pressure. In statistical mechanics, a macrostate is characterized by a probability distribution on a certain ensemble of microstates. In thermodynamics, temperature is the physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold —something that is hotter has the greater temperature. ... The use of water pressure - the Captain Cook Memorial Jet in Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra. ... Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... In mathematics and statistics, a probability distribution, more properly called a probability density, assigns to every interval of the real numbers a probability, so that the probability axioms are satisfied. ... In mathematical physics, especially as introduced into statistical mechanics and thermodynamics by J. Willard Gibbs in 1878, an ensemble (also statistical ensemble or thermodynamic ensemble) is an idealization consisting of a large number of mental copies (possibly infinitely many) of a system, considered all at once, each of which represents...


This distribution describes the probability of finding the system in a certain microstate as it is subject to thermal fluctuations. Informally, probable is one of several words applied to uncertain events or knowledge, being closely related in meaning to likely, risky, hazardous, and doubtful. ... In thermodynamics, temperature is the physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold —something that is hotter has the greater temperature. ...


Let us now turn to the case of large systems: even if those systems are theoretically able to fluctuate between very different microstates, observing such a fluctuation becomes less and less likely as the size of the system increases. This makes up for the thermodynamic limit. In this limit, the microstates visited by a system during its fluctuations all have the same bulk (or macroscopic) properties. In physics, the thermodynamic limit is the statistical mechanical limit described by a system in which the number of particles approaches infinity. ... In thermodynamics, temperature is the physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold —something that is hotter has the greater temperature. ...

Contents

Microscopic definitions of thermodynamic concepts

The definitions of this section link the thermodynamic properties of a system to its distribution on its ensemble (or set) of microstates. Note that all definitions and expressions of this section are valid even far away from thermodynamic equilibrium. Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... In thermodynamics, a thermodynamic system is in thermodynamic equilibrium when it is in thermal equilibrium, mechanical equilibrium, and chemical equilibrium. ...


In this article we will consider a system which is distributed on an ensemble of N microstates. pi is the probability associated to the microstate i, and Ei is its energy. Here microstates form a discrete set, which means we are working in quantum statistical mechanics, and Ei is an energy level of the system. Quantum statistical mechanics is the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems. ... A quantum mechanical system can only be in certain states, so that only certain energy levels are possible. ...


Internal energy

The internal energy is the mean of the system's energy In statistics, mean has two related meanings: the average in ordinary English, which is also called the arithmetic mean (and is distinguished from the geometric mean or harmonic mean). ...

U = langle E rangle = sum_{i=1}^N p_i ,E_i

This definition is the traduction of the first law of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics, a generalized expression of the law of the conservation of energy, states: // Description Essentially, the First Law of Thermodynamics declares that energy is conserved for a closed system, with heat and work being the forms of energy transfer. ...


Entropy

The absolute entropy exclusively depends on the probabilities of the microstates. Its definition is the following: In thermodynamics, entropy, symbolized by S, is a state function of a thermodynamic system defined by the differential quantity , where dQ is the amount of heat absorbed in a reversible process in which the system goes from the one state to another, and T is the absolute temperature. ...

,

where kB is Boltzmann's constant The Boltzmann constant (k or kB) is the physical constant relating temperature to energy. ...


Entropy evoluates according to the second law of thermodynamics. The third law of thermodynamics is consistent with this definition, since an absolute entropy of 0 means that the macrostate of the system reduces to a single microstate. The second law of thermodynamics states that which is equivalent to this scientific statement: The Second Law is a statistical law and thus applicable only to macroscopic systems. ... The third law of thermodynamics (hereinafter Third Law) states that as a system approaches the zero absolute temperature (hereinafter ZAT), all processes cease and the entropy of the system approaches a minimum value. ...


Heat and work

Work is the energy transfer associated to the effect of an ordered, macroscopic action on the system. It is not possible to cause a jump in energy level of a microscopic component of a system through the direct effect of work, but it is possible to change the energy of the system's energy levels. In thermodynamics, thermodynamic work is a generalisation of the concept of mechanical work in mechanics. ... A quantum mechanical system can only be in certain states, so that only certain energy levels are possible. ...


On the other hand heat is the energy transfer associated with a disordered, microscopic action on the system, associated to jumps in energy levels for the microscopic components of the system. In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is defined as energy in transit. ... A quantum mechanical system can only be in certain states, so that only certain energy levels are possible. ...


The microscopic definitions of heat and work are the following: In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is defined as energy in transit. ...

delta W = sum_{i=1}^N p_i,dE_i
delta Q = sum_{i=1}^N E_i,dp_i

So that

~dU = delta W + delta Q

Examples:


Warning: the two above definitions of heat and work are among the few expressions of statistical mechanics where the sum corresponding to the quantum case can not be converted into an integral in the classical limit of a microstate continuum. The reason is that classical microstates are usually not defined in relation to a precise associated quantum microstate, which means that when work changes the energy associated to the energy levels of the system, the energy of classical microstates doesn't follow this change. Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... In calculus, the integral of a function is a generalization of area, mass, volume and total. ... A microstate continuum is the fluctuation spectrum of a thermodynamic system in the classical limit of high temperatures. ...


See also

Quantum statistical mechanics is the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems. ... Degrees of freedom is a general term used in explaining dependence on parameters, and implying the possibility of counting the number of those parameters. ... In physics and thermodynamics, the ergodic hypothesis says that, over long periods of time, the time spent in some region of the phase space of microstates with the same energy is proportional to the volume of this region, i. ... Phase space of a dynamical system with focal stability. ... Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... In physics, a statistical ensemble is a very large set of similar systems, considered all at once. ...

External links

  • Some illustrations of microstates vs. macrostates]


 

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