Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution


Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution

[′mak‚swel ′bōlts·mən ‚di·strə‚byü·shən] (statistical mechanics) Any function giving the probability (or some function proportional to it) that a molecule of a gas in thermal equilibrium will have values of certain variables within given infinitesimal ranges, assuming that the gas molecules obey classical mechanics, and possibly making other assumptions; examples are the Maxwell distribution and the Boltzmann distribution. Also known as Maxwell-Boltzmann density function.