6533b7d8fe1ef96bd126b7dd
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Two experiments to approach the Boltzmann factor: chemical reaction and viscous flow
Claudio FazioIvan GuastellaOnofrio Rosario Battagliasubject
PhysicsScience instructionSettore FIS/08 - Didattica E Storia Della Fisica05 social sciencesMaxwell–Boltzmann statisticsViscosity of liquidPhysics::Physics Education050301 educationGeneral Physics and Astronomy01 natural sciencesChemical reactionRate constantLaboratory experiments and apparatusBoltzmann distributionTheoretical physics0103 physical sciencesViscous flowFluid dynamicsActivation energyStatistical physicsBoltzmann factor010306 general physics0503 educationdescription
In this paper we discuss a pedagogical approach aimed at pointing out the role played by the Boltzmann factor in describing phenomena usually perceived as regulated by different mechanisms of functioning. Experimental results regarding some aspects of a chemical reaction and of the viscous flow of some liquids are analysed and described in terms of macroscopic variables whose temperature dependence is proportional to the Boltzmann factor. A description of a workshop implementing the approach in the framework of an undergraduate course for engineering education and some preliminary results about its pedagogical relevance are then reported.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-01-30 |