Microstates & Entropy of two subsystems of a 4 particle system? (ensembles?)

radiance1
Messages
2
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



****************************************************************
A four-particle system is composed of 2 two–particle subsystems. Subsystem I has par-
ticles A and B, which can have a maximum internal energy U(AB) = 4{E}. Subsystem II
has particles C and D, in which the internal energy U(CD) = 0.

The subsystems are initially isolated from each other, before being brought into thermal
contact (but still isolated from the rest of the universe). By calculating and comparing the
number of microstates of the combined system before and after being brought into thermal
contact, state if and how the entropy of the combined system changes.
*****************************************************************



Homework Equations



****************************************************************
Let W = number of microstates
Let kb = Boltzmann constant

W = 2^N

S = (kb)lnW
****************************************************************

The Attempt at a Solution



****************************************************************
So, I've theoretically laid out:


subsystem I, at any time t, it is likely to exist as W1(U1)
subsystem II, at ant time t is likely to be in U2(U2) microstate


Thus, the combined subsystem is likely to be in W(U1, U2) microstate
where N(total) = N(I) + N(II)
and U(total) = U(I) + U(II)


The total number of microstates of the composite system is the product of the numbers of microstates of the 2 subsystems.

W(U(total), N(total)) = W1(U1, N1)W2(U1,N1) = W1(U1,N1)W2(U(total) - U1, N(total) - N1)

Thus, entropy S is
S = S1(U1, N1) + S2(U(total) - U1, N(total) - N1)
****************************************************************

However, I have no clue as to how to actually calculate W from the data and formulae given. I also do not know how to calculate S, since I do not know how to find W.

Any help would be appreciated!
Much love. =)

****************************************************************
 
Physics news on Phys.org
PS. N is the number of particles
 
Hello everyone, I’m considering a point charge q that oscillates harmonically about the origin along the z-axis, e.g. $$z_{q}(t)= A\sin(wt)$$ In a strongly simplified / quasi-instantaneous approximation I ignore retardation and take the electric field at the position ##r=(x,y,z)## simply to be the “Coulomb field at the charge’s instantaneous position”: $$E(r,t)=\frac{q}{4\pi\varepsilon_{0}}\frac{r-r_{q}(t)}{||r-r_{q}(t)||^{3}}$$ with $$r_{q}(t)=(0,0,z_{q}(t))$$ (I’m aware this isn’t...
Hi, I had an exam and I completely messed up a problem. Especially one part which was necessary for the rest of the problem. Basically, I have a wormhole metric: $$(ds)^2 = -(dt)^2 + (dr)^2 + (r^2 + b^2)( (d\theta)^2 + sin^2 \theta (d\phi)^2 )$$ Where ##b=1## with an orbit only in the equatorial plane. We also know from the question that the orbit must satisfy this relationship: $$\varepsilon = \frac{1}{2} (\frac{dr}{d\tau})^2 + V_{eff}(r)$$ Ultimately, I was tasked to find the initial...
Back
Top