By considering its constituents, determine the dimensions (e.g. length, distance over lime. etc.) of the denominator in equation(926). Why is the result sensible?

Short Answer

Expert verified

It follows that the denominator must be dimensionless so that the average energy also has units of energy

Step by step solution

01

Step 1:Equation (26)

Equation (26) writes:

N(E)D(E)dE

WhereNis the occupation number or simply the number of particles in a particular energy state,D(E)is the density of states anddEis the energy range.

02

Step 2:

In the above equation,N is dimensionless, D(E)has units of 1 /energy anddE has units of energy. Using dimensional analysis, equation (26) must therefore be dimensionless.

03

denominator must be dimensionless

This result is sensible because equation is one of the recipes to calculate the average energyE¯ Since the equation for average energy has numerator with units of energy, it follows that the denominator must be dimensionless so that the average energy also has units of energy.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free