Energy of the dust
Classical Mechanics
Level
4
One thousand dust particles are trapped on a surface. The two states that a particle can occupy are
- absorbed on the surface in a zero energy state.
- excited with energy \(E_1\).
Suppose the particles are in thermal equilibrium at temperature \(T\), and 20 % of the particles are in the excited state. Find the value of \[\frac{1}{k_BT}\sum_i E_i\]
Details and Assumptions
- The particles are identical.
- \(k_B\) is the Boltzmann constant.
by
David Mattingly