Blundell Thermal Physics · Problem 8.2

The mean free path and collisions

Physics — Statistical Mechanics · free-path-statistics

Problem

(a) Show that the root mean square free path is given by

\sqrt{2}\lambda

where

\lambda

is the mean free path. (b) What is the most probable free path length? (c) What percentage of molecules travel a distance greater than (i)

\lambda

, (ii)

2\lambda

, (iii)

5\lambda