He-7 Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution
Aim
To demonstrate the distribution of velocities in a gas via a mechanical analogue.
Apparatus
- Kinetic theory apparatus
Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution Apparatus.
Description
The Kinetic theory apparatus consists of a chamber containing hundreds of small ball bearings representing the atoms in a gas. The lower portion of the chamber is connected to a mechanical vibrator which imparts a continuous motion to the "atoms" An exit hole at the side of the apparatus leads to a segmented plastic container. The atoms exiting the chamber with different velocities are captured by this container. Those atoms with greater velocity reach a different channel in the histogramming bin. A few minutes of operation allows the velocity distribution of the particles to be built up.