The Contributions by Boltzmann Have been varied in the field of sciences; The Boltzmann equation and principle, the statistical mechanics or the terorman H.
Ludwig Boltzmann was born in 1844. At age 22, he already had a PhD and was a university professor. This Australian scientist is considered the father of statistical mechanics.
Portrait of scientist Ludwig Boltzmann
For his contributions and pioneering ideas his surname is widely known, not only among the scientific community, but also by society in general. In addition, to his honor exist several artistic works and monuments that celebrate their contributions.
The work of Boltzmann complements scientific works of great importance, such as those made by Maxwell. In addition, his contributions had wide influence in the works realized by Albert Einstein.
Boltzmann's works were mainly developed in physics, however he also published works related to other fields such as life sciences and philosophy of science.
Main contributions of Boltzmann
The Boltzmann equation
The most recognized contribution of Ludwig Boltzmann is the approach of the equation that bears his name: Boltzmann's equation. This equation was originally proposed in 1870 and subsequently underwent some developments.
The equation, based on the notions of atoms and molecules, defined the probability of finding molecules in a given state.
With further developments, the equation became useful for calculating potential equilibrium in ion species and for describing conformational changes of biological molecules.
Statistical Mechanics
Some authors assert that Boltzmann was the first person to truly apply statistics in the study of Gases .
As a result, they consider that kinetic theory studies have become statistical mechanics studies.
For this contribution, Boltzmann is recognized by many as the father of statistical mechanics.
This discipline has allowed to study the properties of macroscopic materials and objects from the properties of their atoms and molecules.
Entropy and Boltzmann Principle
Although the concept of entropy had been introduced by Rudolf Clausius in 1865, Boltzmann brought the notion of entropy into everyday life.
In 1877 Boltzmann stated that entropy is a measure of the disorder of the state of a physical system.
Under this concept, Boltzmann formulates an equation for the entropy known as the Boltzmann principle.
Philosophy of science
Boltzmann's contributions to the development of the philosophy of science are also widely recognized.
Many of his ideas in this field were collected in his text"Popular Writings"published in 1905.
Boltzmann dealt with philosophical subjects within the very varied science. Among them he discussed terms such as realism and idealism. I also criticize renowned philosophers such as Kant and Hegel.
Boltzmann firmly believed that the philosophy Could help science not ask useless questions. Thus, Boltzmann referred to himself as a realist, although many others identified him as belonging to the materialistic current.
Other contributions
The contributions of Boltzmann were very extensive and led to the development of very important equations and theories in physics.
Some of the most important theories and equations developed by Boltzmann or inspired by his work are theorem H and the formulation of a probability distribution of particles.
References
- Brown H. R. Myrvold W. Uffink J. Boltzmann's H-theorem, its discontents, and the birth of statistical mechanics. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics . 2009; 40 (2): 174-191.
- Dubois J. Ouanounou G. Rouzaire-Dubois B. The Boltzmann equation in molecular biology. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology . 2009; 99 (2): 87-93.
- Flamm D. Ludwig Boltzmann and his influence on science. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science . 1983; 14 (4): 255-278.
- Science A. A. The Monument for Ludwig Boltzmann. Science, New Series . 1932 75 (1944).
- Swendsen R. H. Footnotes to the history of statistical mechanics: In Boltzmann's words. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications . 2010; 389 (15), 2898-2901.
- Williams M. M. R. Ludwig Boltzmann. Annals of Nuclear Energy . 1977; 4 (4-5): 145-159.