Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution

English

Etymology

Named after James Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann.

Noun

Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution (plural Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions)

1. (physics, statistical mechanics) A particular probability distribution originally defined and used for describing particle speeds in idealized gases. Mathematically, it is the chi distribution with three degrees of freedom (the components of the velocity vector in Euclidean space), with a scale parameter measuring speeds in units proportional to the square root of the ratio of temperature and particle mass.