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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / What if the ideal gas in a vessel is not ergodic?
« on: 07/05/2023 14:30:50 »
It's not a hypothetical question, but something I have faced recently. Consider the usual ideal gas, placed in the vessel with axial symmetry. In the 2D case, it's a round vessel. The reflection of gas particles from its border would not violate the law of conservation of angular momentum due to the vessel's symmetry. As a result, the angular momentum of the gas in such vessels is also conserved, not only the gas energy. Hence, not all the equal energy states are populated, which makes the system nonergodic. I have studied one particular case of this kind (a paper titled "Distribution of energy in the ideal gas that lacks equipartition") and found previously unknown ideal gas distributions and the absence of equipartition of energy. So, first, I would like to share the information above since not many people know that the ideal gas behaviour in rectangular and round vessels is very different. And, second, to ask for any other examples of systems with known uneven laws of energy partitioning. As far as I know, heavy particles have less mean energy than light ones in cases of uneven energy partitioning. Is that always so, or are there counterexamples?