An Introduction to Thermal Physics · Problem 6.48

Boltzmann Statistics — Daniel Schroeder

Physics — Statistical Mechanics · diatomic-gas-entropy-chemical-potential

Problem

For a diatomic gas near room temperature, the internal partition function is simply the rotational partition function computed in Section 6.2, multiplied by the degeneracy ZeZ_e of the electronic ground state. (a) Show that the entropy in this case is S=Nk[ln⁡(VZeZrotNvQ)+72].S = Nk\left[\ln\left(\frac{VZ_e Z_{\text{rot}}}{Nv_Q}\right) + \frac{7}{2}\right]. Calculate the entropy of a mole of oxygen (Ze=3Z_e = 3) at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and compare to the measured value in the table at the back of this book.∗^* (b) Calculate the chemical potential of oxygen in earth's atmosphere near sea level, at room temperature. Express the answer in electron-volts.

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