Problem 4.12.

Finite Size Effect of Two Dimensions

The expression (4.39) for Γ(𝐸) is valid only for large E because the area of a quadrant of a circle
overestimates the number of lattice points 𝑛𝑥 , 𝑛𝑦 inside a circle of radius R. Use Program Ideal
Gas Number Of States to explore how the relation Γ = 𝜋𝑅 2 /4 approximates the actual number
of microstates. The program computes the number of nonzero, positive integers that satisfy the
condition 𝑛𝑥2 + 𝑛𝑦2 ≤ 𝑅 2 . What is the minimum value of R for which the difference between the
asymptotic relation and the exact number is less than 1%?

Problem 4.13. Finite-size effects in three dimensions

The expression (4.42) for Γ(𝐸) is valid only for large E because the area of an octant of a sphere
overestimates the number of lattice points nx, ny, nz. Use Program Ideal Gas Number Of States
to determine how the relation Γ = 𝜋𝑅 3 /6 approximates the total number of microstates, as in
Problem 4.12.

Problem 4.14. Estimation of the number of states

Estimate the number of microstates accessible to a gas molecule in a one liter box at room
temperature.
The mean energy E of a gas molecule such as nitrogen at room temperature can be found from
the relation 𝐸 = 3𝑘𝑇/2. Consider an energy interval Δ𝐸 = 10−27 J that is much smaller than E,
and calculate the number of microstates 𝑔(𝐸)Δ𝐸 accessible to the molecule in the interval
between E and 𝐸 + Δ𝐸. Refer to (4.42) and (4.17).

Problem 4.15. Approximate expression for 𝚪(𝑬, 𝑽, 𝑵)

We can obtain an approximate expression for Γ(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁) using simpler physical considerations.
We write
1 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 1 𝐸 𝑁
Γ(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁) ≈ 𝑁! Γ1 (𝑁 , 𝑉) Γ1 (𝑁 , 𝑉) … Γ1 (𝑁 , 𝑉) = 𝑁! Γ1 (𝑁 , 𝑉) , (4.52),
where Γ1 (𝐸, 𝑉) is the number of states of a single particle with energy less than E in a three
dimensional box of volume V . We have assumed that on the average each particle has an energy
E/N. Find the form of Γ(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁) using the relation (4.42) for Γ1 . How does the dependence on V
and E of Γ(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁) obtained from this simple argument compare to the V and E dependence of Γ
in (4.49). What about the N dependence?
Problem 4.16. Density of states of an ideal gas
Use (4.51) to calculate the density of states 𝑔(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁) and verify that Γ(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁) and 𝑔(𝐸, 𝑉, 𝑁)
are rapidly increasing functions of 𝐸, 𝑉 , and 𝑁.

Problem 4.17. Form of the entropy

Compare the form of S given in (4.63) with the form of S determined from thermodynamic
considerations in Section 2.19.