Boltzmann constant
Boltzmann constant | |
---|---|
Symbol: | kB, k |
Value in joules per kelvin: | 1.380649×10−23 J⋅K−1[1] |
The Boltzmann constant (kB or k) is the
As part of the
Roles of the Boltzmann constant
Boltzmann constant: The Boltzmann constant, k, is one of seven fixed constants defining the International System of Units, the SI, with k = 1.380 649 x 10-23 J K-1. The Boltzmann constant is a proportionality constant between the quantities temperature (with unit kelvin) and energy (with unit joule). [3]
Macroscopically, the
where R is the
where N is the
Role in the equipartition of energy
Given a thermodynamic system at an absolute temperature T, the average thermal energy carried by each microscopic degree of freedom in the system is 1/2 kT (i.e., about 2.07×10−21 J, or 0.013 eV, at room temperature). This is generally true only for classical systems with a large number of particles, and in which quantum effects are negligible.
In
Kinetic theory gives the average pressure p for an ideal gas as
Combination with the ideal gas law
shows that the average translational kinetic energy is
Considering that the translational motion velocity vector v has three degrees of freedom (one for each dimension) gives the average energy per degree of freedom equal to one third of that, i.e. 1/2 kT.
The ideal gas equation is also obeyed closely by molecular gases; but the form for the heat capacity is more complicated, because the molecules possess additional internal degrees of freedom, as well as the three degrees of freedom for movement of the molecule as a whole. Diatomic gases, for example, possess a total of six degrees of simple freedom per molecule that are related to atomic motion (three translational, two rotational, and one vibrational). At lower temperatures, not all these degrees of freedom may fully participate in the gas heat capacity, due to quantum mechanical limits on the availability of excited states at the relevant thermal energy per molecule.
Role in Boltzmann factors
More generally, systems in equilibrium at temperature T have probability Pi of occupying a state i with energy E weighted by the corresponding
where Z is the partition function. Again, it is the energy-like quantity kT that takes central importance.
Consequences of this include (in addition to the results for ideal gases above) the Arrhenius equation in chemical kinetics.
Role in the statistical definition of entropy
In statistical mechanics, the entropy S of an isolated system at thermodynamic equilibrium is defined as the natural logarithm of W, the number of distinct microscopic states available to the system given the macroscopic constraints (such as a fixed total energy E):
This equation, which relates the microscopic details, or microstates, of the system (via W) to its macroscopic state (via the entropy S), is the central idea of statistical mechanics. Such is its importance that it is inscribed on Boltzmann's tombstone.
The constant of proportionality k serves to make the statistical mechanical entropy equal to the classical thermodynamic entropy of
One could choose instead a rescaled
This is a more natural form and this rescaled entropy exactly corresponds to Shannon's subsequent
The characteristic energy kT is thus the energy required to increase the rescaled entropy by one nat.
The thermal voltage
In
where q is the magnitude of the electrical charge on the electron with a value 1.602176634×10−19 C.[6] Equivalently,
At room temperature 300 K (27 °C; 80 °F), VT is approximately 25.85 mV[7][8] which can be derived by plugging in the values as follows:
At the standard state temperature of 298.15 K (25.00 °C; 77.00 °F), it is approximately 25.69 mV. The thermal voltage is also important in plasmas and electrolyte solutions (e.g. the Nernst equation); in both cases it provides a measure of how much the spatial distribution of electrons or ions is affected by a boundary held at a fixed voltage.[9][10]
History
The Boltzmann constant is named after its 19th century Austrian discoverer, Ludwig Boltzmann. Although Boltzmann first linked entropy and probability in 1877, the relation was never expressed with a specific constant until Max Planck first introduced k, and gave a more precise value for it (1.346×10−23 J/K, about 2.5% lower than today's figure), in his derivation of the law of black-body radiation in 1900–1901.[11] Before 1900, equations involving Boltzmann factors were not written using the energies per molecule and the Boltzmann constant, but rather using a form of the gas constant R, and macroscopic energies for macroscopic quantities of the substance. The iconic terse form of the equation S = k ln W on Boltzmann's tombstone is in fact due to Planck, not Boltzmann. Planck actually introduced it in the same work as his eponymous h.[12]
In 1920, Planck wrote in his Nobel Prize lecture:[13]
This constant is often referred to as Boltzmann's constant, although, to my knowledge, Boltzmann himself never introduced it – a peculiar state of affairs, which can be explained by the fact that Boltzmann, as appears from his occasional utterances, never gave thought to the possibility of carrying out an exact measurement of the constant.
This "peculiar state of affairs" is illustrated by reference to one of the great scientific debates of the time. There was considerable disagreement in the second half of the nineteenth century as to whether atoms and molecules were real or whether they were simply a
Nothing can better illustrate the positive and hectic pace of progress which the art of experimenters has made over the past twenty years, than the fact that since that time, not only one, but a great number of methods have been discovered for measuring the mass of a molecule with practically the same accuracy as that attained for a planet.
In versions of SI prior to the 2019 redefinition of the SI base units, the Boltzmann constant was a measured quantity rather than a fixed value. Its exact definition also varied over the years due to redefinitions of the kelvin (see Kelvin § History) and other SI base units (see Joule § History).
In 2017, the most accurate measures of the Boltzmann constant were obtained by acoustic gas thermometry, which determines the speed of sound of a monatomic gas in a triaxial ellipsoid chamber using microwave and acoustic resonances.
Value in different units
Values of k | Units | Comments |
---|---|---|
1.380649×10−23 | J/K | SI by definition, J/K = m2⋅kg/(s2⋅K) in SI base units
|
8.617333262×10−5 | eV/K | † |
2.083661912×1010 | Hz/K | (k/h) † |
1.380649×10−16 | erg/K | CGS system, 1 erg = 1×10−7 J |
3.297623483×10−24 | cal/K | † 1 calorie = 4.1868 J |
1.832013046×10−24 | cal/°R | † |
5.657302466×10−24 | ft lb /°R |
† |
0.695034800 | cm−1/K | (k/(hc)) † |
3.166811563×10−6 | Eh/K | (Eh = hartree) |
1.987204259×10−3 | kcal/(mol ⋅K) |
(kNA) † |
8.314462618×10−3 | kJ/(mol⋅K) | (kNA) † |
−228.5991672 | dB(W/K/Hz) | 10 log10(k/(1 W/K/Hz)),† used for thermal noise calculations
|
1.536179187×10−40 | kg/K | k/c2, where c is the speed of light[17] |
†The value is exact but not expressible as a finite decimal; approximated to 9 decimal places only.
Since k is a
The Boltzmann constant sets up a relationship between wavelength and temperature (dividing hc/k by a wavelength gives a temperature) with one micrometer being related to 14387.777 K, and also a relationship between voltage and temperature (kT in units of eV corresponds to a voltage) with one volt being related to 11604.518 K. The ratio of these two temperatures, 14387.777 K / 11604.518 K ≈ 1.239842, is the numerical value of hc in units of eV⋅μm.
Natural units
The Boltzmann constant provides a mapping from the characteristic microscopic energy E to the macroscopic temperature scale T = E/k. In fundamental physics, this mapping is often simplified by using the
This convention simplifies many physical relationships and formulas. For example, the equipartition formula for the energy associated with each classical degree of freedom ( above) becomes
As another example, the definition of thermodynamic entropy coincides with the form of
where Pi is the probability of each microstate.
See also
- Committee on Data of the International Science Council
- Thermodynamic beta
- List of scientists whose names are used in physical constants
Notes
References
- ^ a b
Newell, David B.; Tiesinga, Eite (2019). The International System of Units (SI). NIST Special Publication 330. Gaithersburg, Maryland: National Institute of Standards and Technology. S2CID 242934226.
- ISBN 978-0-201-02115-8.
- . Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Proceedings of the 106th meeting" (PDF). 16–20 October 2017.
- ISBN 0-13-014329-4.
- ^ "2018 CODATA Value: elementary charge". The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. NIST. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ISBN 9781305635166.
- arXiv:1608.05638v1 [physics.ed-ph].
- ISBN 978-0-521-11903-0.
- ISBN 978-0-19-856864-3.
- doi:10.1002/andp.19013090310. English translation: "On the Law of Distribution of Energy in the Normal Spectrum". Archived from the originalon 17 December 2008.
- S2CID 26918826.
- ^ a b Planck, Max (2 June 1920), The Genesis and Present State of Development of the Quantum Theory (Nobel Lecture)
- S2CID 53680647. Archived from the original(PDF) on 5 March 2019.
- S2CID 125912713.
- ISSN 0026-1394.
- ^ "CODATA Value: Kelvin-kilogram relationship".
- ^ S2CID 118726162.
- ISBN 0716710889.
We prefer to use a more natural temperature scale ... the fundamental temperature has the units of energy.
- .
External links
- Draft Chapter 2 for SI Brochure, following redefinitions of the base units (prepared by the Consultative Committee for Units)
- Big step towards redefining the kelvin: Scientists find new way to determine Boltzmann constant