Microstate continuum
Encyclopedia
A microstate continuum is the fluctuation spectrum of a thermodynamic system
Thermodynamic system
A thermodynamic system is a precisely defined macroscopic region of the universe, often called a physical system, that is studied using the principles of thermodynamics....

 in the classical limit of high temperatures. Classical here is to be understood in opposition to quantum statistical mechanics
Quantum statistical mechanics
Quantum statistical mechanics is the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems. A statistical ensemble is described by a density operator S, which is a non-negative, self-adjoint, trace-class operator of trace 1 on the Hilbert space H describing the quantum system. This can be...

.

See also

  • degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry)
    Degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry)
    A degree of freedom is an independent physical parameter, often called a dimension, in the formal description of the state of a physical system...

  • ergodic hypothesis
    Ergodic hypothesis
    In physics and thermodynamics, the ergodic hypothesis says that, over long periods of time, the time spent by a particle in some region of the phase space of microstates with the same energy is proportional to the volume of this region, i.e., that all accessible microstates are equiprobable over a...

  • microstate (statistical mechanics)
    Microstate (statistical mechanics)
    In statistical mechanics, a microstate is a specific microscopic configuration of a thermodynamic system that the system may occupy with a certain probability in the course of its thermal fluctuations...

  • phase space
    Phase space
    In mathematics and physics, a phase space, introduced by Willard Gibbs in 1901, is a space in which all possible states of a system are represented, with each possible state of the system corresponding to one unique point in the phase space...

  • Quantum statistical mechanics
    Quantum statistical mechanics
    Quantum statistical mechanics is the study of statistical ensembles of quantum mechanical systems. A statistical ensemble is described by a density operator S, which is a non-negative, self-adjoint, trace-class operator of trace 1 on the Hilbert space H describing the quantum system. This can be...

  • statistical mechanics
    Statistical mechanics
    Statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamicsThe terms statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics are used interchangeably...

  • statistical ensemble
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