Thermal energy is most easily defined in the context of the ideal gas, which is well approximated by a monatomic gas at low pressure. The ideal gas is a gas of particles considered as point objects of perfect spherical symmetry that interact only by elast

Thermal energy is most easily defined in the context of the ideal gas, which is well approximated by a monatomic gas at low pressure. The ideal gas is a gas of particles considered as point objects of perfect spherical symmetry that interact only by elastic collisions and fill a volume such that their mean free path between collisions is much larger than their diameter.

The mechanical kinetic energy of a single particle is

» Thermal energy is most easily defined in the context of the ideal gas, which is well approximated by a monatomic gas at low pressure. The ideal gas is a gas of particles considered as point objects of perfect spherical symmetry that interact only by elast
» Thermal energy of the ideal gasThermal energy is most easily defined in the context of the ideal gas, which is well approximated by a monatomic gas at low pressure. The ideal gas is a gas of particles considered as point objects of perfect spherical symme
» The term thermal energy is also often used as a property of single particles to designate the kinetic energy of the particles. An example is the description of thermal neutrons having a certain thermal energy, which means that the kinetic energy of the pa
» The term thermal energy is also often used as a property of single particles to designate the kinetic energy of the particles. An example is the description of thermal neutrons having a certain thermal energy, which means that the kinetic energy of the pa
» where k is the Boltzmann constant. The total thermal energy of a sample of matter or a thermodynamic system is consequently the average sum of the kinetic energies of all particles in the system. Thus, for a system of N particles its thermal energy is[3]