Abstract
Matter on the macroscopic scale always consists of a very large number of particles (atoms or molecules). The number of particles in the macroscopic volume element of a cubic meter or a liter is of the order of magnitude of 1023. It is self-evident that it makes no sense to try to write out and solve the equations of motion for this number of particles. Finding the explicit solution, i.e. the trajectories of all the particles, is not even desirable, and anyway it could not be verified experimentally.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Landau, L.D., Lifshitz, E.M.: Course of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 5. Statistical Physics (Pergamon, Oxford 1980)
McQuarrie, D.A.: Statistical Mechanics ( Harpe Collins, New York 1976 )
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Honerkamp, J., Römer, H. (1993). Classical Statistical Mechanics. In: Theoretical Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77984-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77984-8_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-77986-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-77984-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive