Bowtzmann constant

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Vawues of k[1] Units
1.380649×10−23[2] J⋅K−1
8.617333262145×10−5 eV⋅K−1
1.380649×10−16 erg⋅K−1
For detaiws, see § Vawue in different units bewow.

The Bowtzmann constant (kB or k), named after its discoverer, Ludwig Bowtzmann, is a physicaw constant dat rewates de average rewative kinetic energy of particwes in a gas wif de temperature of de gas. [3] It occurs in de definitions of de kewvin and de gas constant, and in Pwanck's waw of bwack-body radiation and Bowtzmann's entropy formuwa. The Bowtzmann constant has de dimension energy divided by temperature, de same as entropy.

As part of de 2019 redefinition of SI base units, de Bowtzmann constant is one of de seven "defining constants" dat have been given exact definitions. They are used in various combinations to define de seven SI base units. The Bowtzmann constant is defined to be exactwy 1.380649×10−23 J/K.[4][5]

This definition awwows de Kewvin to be defined in terms of de Bowtzmann constant, de metre, de second, and de kiwogram. Before 2019, its vawue in SI units was a measured qwantity. Measurements of de Bowtzmann constant depended on de definition of de kewvin in terms of de tripwe point of water. The measured vawues were used to determine de qwantity dat is used in de 2019 definition, to make de definition's vawue for de kewvin identicaw to de owd vawue to widin de wimits of experimentaw accuracy at de time of de definition, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Bridge from macroscopic to microscopic physics[edit]

Rewationships between Boywe's, Charwes's, Gay-Lussac's, Avogadro's, combined and ideaw gas waws, wif de Bowtzmann constant kB = R/NA = n R/N  (in each waw, properties circwed are variabwe and properties not circwed are constant)

The Bowtzmann constant, k, is a scawing factor between macroscopic (dermodynamic temperature) and microscopic (dermaw energy) physics. Macroscopicawwy, de ideaw gas waw states dat, for an ideaw gas, de product of pressure p and vowume V is proportionaw to de product of amount of substance n (in mowes) and absowute temperature T:

where R is de gas constant (8.31446261815324 J⋅K−1⋅mow−1).[6] Introducing de Bowtzmann constant transforms de ideaw gas waw into an awternative form:

where N is de number of mowecuwes of gas. For n = 1 mow, N is eqwaw to de number of particwes in one mowe (Avogadro's number).

Rowe in de eqwipartition of energy[edit]

Given a dermodynamic system at an absowute temperature T, de average dermaw energy carried by each microscopic degree of freedom in de system is 1/2kT (i.e., about 2.07×10−21 J, or 0.013 eV, at room temperature).

In cwassicaw statisticaw mechanics, dis average is predicted to howd exactwy for homogeneous ideaw gases. Monatomic ideaw gases (de six nobwe gases) possess dree degrees of freedom per atom, corresponding to de dree spatiaw directions, which means a dermaw energy of 3/2kT per atom. This corresponds very weww wif experimentaw data. The dermaw energy can be used to cawcuwate de root-mean-sqware speed of de atoms, which turns out to be inversewy proportionaw to de sqware root of de atomic mass. The root mean sqware speeds found at room temperature accuratewy refwect dis, ranging from 1370 m/s for hewium, down to 240 m/s for xenon.

Kinetic deory gives de average pressure p for an ideaw gas as

Combination wif de ideaw gas waw

shows dat de average transwationaw kinetic energy is

Considering dat de transwationaw motion vewocity vector v has dree degrees of freedom (one for each dimension) gives de average energy per degree of freedom eqwaw to one dird of dat, i.e. 1/2kT.

The ideaw gas eqwation is awso obeyed cwosewy by mowecuwar gases; but de form for de heat capacity is more compwicated, because de mowecuwes possess additionaw internaw degrees of freedom, as weww as de dree degrees of freedom for movement of de mowecuwe as a whowe. Diatomic gases, for exampwe, possess a totaw of six degrees of simpwe freedom per mowecuwe dat are rewated to atomic motion (dree transwationaw, two rotationaw, and one vibrationaw). At wower temperatures, not aww dese degrees of freedom may fuwwy participate in de gas heat capacity, due to qwantum mechanicaw wimits on de avaiwabiwity of excited states at de rewevant dermaw energy per mowecuwe.

Rowe in Bowtzmann factors[edit]

More generawwy, systems in eqwiwibrium at temperature T have probabiwity Pi of occupying a state i wif energy E weighted by de corresponding Bowtzmann factor:

where Z is de partition function. Again, it is de energy-wike qwantity kT dat takes centraw importance.

Conseqwences of dis incwude (in addition to de resuwts for ideaw gases above) de Arrhenius eqwation in chemicaw kinetics.

Rowe in de statisticaw definition of entropy[edit]

Bowtzmann's grave in de Zentrawfriedhof, Vienna, wif bust and entropy formuwa.

In statisticaw mechanics, de entropy S of an isowated system at dermodynamic eqwiwibrium is defined as de naturaw wogaridm of W, de number of distinct microscopic states avaiwabwe to de system given de macroscopic constraints (such as a fixed totaw energy E):

This eqwation, which rewates de microscopic detaiws, or microstates, of de system (via W) to its macroscopic state (via de entropy S), is de centraw idea of statisticaw mechanics. Such is its importance dat it is inscribed on Bowtzmann's tombstone.

The constant of proportionawity k serves to make de statisticaw mechanicaw entropy eqwaw to de cwassicaw dermodynamic entropy of Cwausius:

One couwd choose instead a rescawed dimensionwess entropy in microscopic terms such dat

This is a more naturaw form and dis rescawed entropy exactwy corresponds to Shannon's subseqwent information entropy.

The characteristic energy kT is dus de energy reqwired to increase de rescawed entropy by one nat.

Rowe in semiconductor physics: de dermaw vowtage[edit]

In semiconductors, de Shockwey diode eqwation—de rewationship between de fwow of ewectric current and de ewectrostatic potentiaw across a p–n junction—depends on a characteristic vowtage cawwed de dermaw vowtage, denoted VT. The dermaw vowtage depends on absowute temperature T as

where q is de magnitude of de ewectricaw charge on de ewectron wif a vawue 1.6021766208(98)×10−19 C.[1] Eqwivawentwy,

At room temperature (300 K), VT is approximatewy 25.85 mV.[7][8] The dermaw vowtage is awso important in pwasmas and ewectrowyte sowutions; in bof cases it provides a measure of how much de spatiaw distribution of ewectrons or ions is affected by a boundary hewd at a fixed vowtage.[9][10]


Awdough Bowtzmann first winked entropy and probabiwity in 1877, de rewation was never expressed wif a specific constant untiw Max Pwanck first introduced k, and gave a precise vawue for it (1.346×10−23 J/K, about 2.5% wower dan today's figure), in his derivation of de waw of bwack body radiation in 1900–1901.[11] Before 1900, eqwations invowving Bowtzmann factors were not written using de energies per mowecuwe and de Bowtzmann constant, but rader using a form of de gas constant R, and macroscopic energies for macroscopic qwantities of de substance. The iconic terse form of de eqwation S = k wn W on Bowtzmann's tombstone is in fact due to Pwanck, not Bowtzmann, uh-hah-hah-hah. Pwanck actuawwy introduced it in de same work as his eponymous h.[12]

In 1920, Pwanck wrote in his Nobew Prize wecture:[13]

This constant is often referred to as Bowtzmann's constant, awdough, to my knowwedge, Bowtzmann himsewf never introduced it — a pecuwiar state of affairs, which can be expwained by de fact dat Bowtzmann, as appears from his occasionaw utterances, never gave dought to de possibiwity of carrying out an exact measurement of de constant.

This "pecuwiar state of affairs" is iwwustrated by reference to one of de great scientific debates of de time. There was considerabwe disagreement in de second hawf of de nineteenf century as to wheder atoms and mowecuwes were reaw or wheder dey were simpwy a heuristic toow for sowving probwems. There was no agreement wheder chemicaw mowecuwes, as measured by atomic weights, were de same as physicaw mowecuwes, as measured by kinetic deory. Pwanck's 1920 wecture continued:[13]

Noding can better iwwustrate de positive and hectic pace of progress which de art of experimenters has made over de past twenty years, dan de fact dat since dat time, not onwy one, but a great number of medods have been discovered for measuring de mass of a mowecuwe wif practicawwy de same accuracy as dat attained for a pwanet.

In 2017, de most accurate measures of de Bowtzmann constant were obtained by acoustic gas dermometry, which determines de speed of sound of a monatomic gas in a triaxiaw ewwipsoid chamber using microwave and acoustic resonances.[14][15] This decade-wong effort was undertaken wif different techniqwes by severaw waboratories;[a] it is one of de cornerstones of de 2019 redefinition of SI base units. Based on dese measurements, de CODATA recommended 1.380 649 × 10−23 J⋅K−1 to be de finaw fixed vawue of de Bowtzmann constant to be used for de Internationaw System of Units.[16]

Vawue in different units[edit]

Vawues of k Units Comments
1.380649×10−23 J/K SI by definition, J/K = m2⋅kg/(s2⋅K) in SI base units
8.617333262145×10−5 eV/K ewectronvowt = 1.602176634×10−19 J

1/k = 11604.518121550 K/eV

2.0836612(12)×1010 Hz/K 2014 CODATA vawue[1]
1 Hzh = 6.626070040(81)×10−34 J[1]
3.1668114(29)×10−6 EH/K EH = 2Rhc = 4.359744650(54)×10−18 J[1] = 6.579683920729(33) Hzh[1]
1.0 Atomic units by definition
1.38064852(79)×10−16 erg/K CGS system, 1 erg = 1×10−7 J
3.2976230(30)×10−24 caw/K steam tabwe caworie = 4.1868 J
1.8320128(17)×10−24 caw/°R degree Rankine = 5/9 K
5.6573016(51)×10−24 ft wb/°R foot-pound force = 1.3558179483314004 J
0.69503476(63) cm−1/K 2010 CODATA vawue[1]
1 cm−1 hc = 1.986445683(87)×10−23 J
0.0019872041(18) kcaw/(mow⋅K) R noted kB, often used in statisticaw mechanics—using dermochemicaw caworie = 4.184 jouwe
0.0083144621(75) kJ/(mow⋅K) R noted kB, often used in statisticaw mechanics
4.10 pN⋅nm kT in piconewton nanometer at 24 °C, used in biophysics
−228.5991678(40) dBW/(K⋅Hz) in decibew watts, used in tewecommunications (see Johnson–Nyqwist noise)
1.442 695 041... Sh in shannons (wogaridm base 2), used in information entropy (exact vawue 1/wn(2))
1 nat in nats (wogaridm base e), used in information entropy (see § Pwanck units, bewow)

Since k is a physicaw constant of proportionawity between temperature and energy, its numericaw vawue depends on de choice of units for energy and temperature. The smaww numericaw vawue of de Bowtzmann constant in SI units means a change in temperature by 1 K onwy changes a particwe's energy by a smaww amount. A change of °C is defined to be de same as a change of 1 K. The characteristic energy kT is a term encountered in many physicaw rewationships.

The Bowtzmann constant sets up a rewationship between wavewengf and temperature (dividing hc/k by a wavewengf gives a temperature) wif one micrometer being rewated to 14 387.770 K, and awso a rewationship between vowtage and temperature (muwtipwying de vowtage by k in units of eV/K) wif one vowt being rewated to 11 604.519 K. The ratio of dese two temperatures, 14 387.770 K/11 604.519 K ≈ 1.239842, is de numericaw vawue of hc in units of eV⋅μm.

Pwanck units[edit]

The Bowtzmann constant provides a mapping from dis characteristic microscopic energy E to de macroscopic temperature scawe T = E/k. In physics research anoder definition is often encountered in setting k to unity, resuwting in de Pwanck units or naturaw units for temperature and energy. In dis context temperature is measured effectivewy in units of energy and de Bowtzmann constant is not expwicitwy needed.[17]

The eqwipartition formuwa for de energy associated wif each cwassicaw degree of freedom den becomes

The use of naturaw units simpwifies many physicaw rewationships; in dis form de definition of dermodynamic entropy coincides wif de form of information entropy:

where Pi is de probabiwity of each microstate.

The vawue chosen for a unit of de Pwanck temperature is dat corresponding to de energy of de Pwanck mass or 1.416808(33)×1032 K.[1]

See awso[edit]


  1. ^ Independent techniqwes expwoited: acoustic gas dermometry, diewectric constant gas dermometry, johnson noise dermometry. Invowved waboratories cited by CODATA in 2017: LNE-Cnam (France), NPL (UK), INRIM (Itawy), PTB (Germany), NIST (USA), NIM (China).


  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Barry N. Taywor of de Data Center in cwose cowwaboration wif Peter J. Mohr of de Physicaw Measurement Laboratory's Atomic Physics Division, Termed de "2014 CODATA recommended vawues", dey are generawwy recognized worwdwide for use in aww fiewds of science and technowogy. The vawues became avaiwabwe on 25 June 2015 and repwaced de 2010 CODATA set. They are based on aww of de data avaiwabwe drough 31 December 2014. Avaiwabwe:
  2. ^ The Internationaw System of Units (SI) (PDF) (9f ed.), Bureau Internationaw des Poids et Mesures, 2019, p. 129
  3. ^ Richard Feynman (1970). The Feynman Lectures on Physics Vow I. Addison Weswey Longman, uh-hah-hah-hah. ISBN 978-0-201-02115-8.
  4. ^ Miwton, Martin (14 November 2016). Highwights in de work of de BIPM in 2016 (PDF). SIM XXII Generaw Assembwy. Montevideo, Uruguay. p. 10.
  5. ^ Proceedings of de 106f meeting (PDF). Internationaw Committee for Weights and Measures. Sèvres. 16 October 2017. pp. 17–23.
  6. ^ "Proceedings of de 106f meeting" (PDF). 16–20 October 2017.
  7. ^ Rashid, Muhammad H. (2016). Microewectronic circuits: anawysis and design (Third ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 183–184. ISBN 9781305635166.
  8. ^ Catawdo, Enrico; Lieto, Awberto Di; Maccarrone, Francesco; Paffuti, Giampiero (18 August 2016). "Measurements and anawysis of current-vowtage characteristic of a pn diode for an undergraduate physics waboratory". arXiv:1608.05638v1 [physics.ed-ph].
  9. ^ Kirby, Brian J. (2009). Micro- and Nanoscawe Fwuid Mechanics: Transport in Microfwuidic Devices. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-11903-0.
  10. ^ Tabewing, Patrick (2006). Introduction to Microfwuidics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-856864-3.
  11. ^ Pwanck, Max (1901), "Ueber das Gesetz der Energieverteiwung im Normawspectrum" (PDF), Ann, uh-hah-hah-hah. Phys., 309 (3): 553–63, Bibcode:1901AnP...309..553P, doi:10.1002/andp.19013090310, archived from de originaw (PDF) on 10 June 2012. Engwish transwation: "On de Law of Distribution of Energy in de Normaw Spectrum". Archived from de originaw on 17 December 2008.
  12. ^ Dupwantier, Bertrand (2005). "Le mouvement brownien, 'divers et ondoyant'" [Brownian motion, 'diverse and unduwating'] (PDF). Séminaire Poincaré 1 (in French): 155–212.
  13. ^ a b Pwanck, Max (2 June 1920), The Genesis and Present State of Devewopment of de Quantum Theory (Nobew Lecture)
  14. ^ Pitre, L; Sparasci, F; Risegari, L; Guianvarc’h, C; Martin, C; Himbert, M E; Pwimmer, M D; Awward, A; Marty, B; Giuwiano Awbo, P A; Gao, B; Mowdover, M R; Mehw, J B (1 December 2017). "New measurement of de Bowtzmann constant by acoustic dermometry of hewium-4 gas". Metrowogia. 54 (6): 856–873. Bibcode:2017Metro..54..856P. doi:10.1088/1681-7575/aa7bf5.
  15. ^ de Podesta, Michaew; Mark, Darren F; Dymock, Ross C; Underwood, Robin; Bacqwart, Thomas; Sutton, Gavin; Davidson, Stuart; Machin, Graham (1 October 2017). "Re-estimation of argon isotope ratios weading to a revised estimate of de Bowtzmann constant" (PDF). Metrowogia. 54 (5): 683–692. Bibcode:2017Metro..54..683D. doi:10.1088/1681-7575/aa7880.
  16. ^ Neweww, D. B.; Cabiati, F.; Fischer, J.; Fujii, K.; Karshenboim, S. G.; Margowis, H. S.; Mirandés, E. de; Mohr, P. J.; Nez, F. (2018). "The CODATA 2017 vawues of h, e, k, and N A for de revision of de SI". Metrowogia. 55 (1): L13. Bibcode:2018Metro..55L..13N. doi:10.1088/1681-7575/aa950a. ISSN 0026-1394.
  17. ^ Kawinin, M; Kononogov, S (2005), "Bowtzmann's Constant, de Energy Meaning of Temperature, and Thermodynamic Irreversibiwity", Measurement Techniqwes, 48 (7): 632–36, doi:10.1007/s11018-005-0195-9

Externaw winks[edit]