Basic question regarding Maxwells distribution

[Rhydo]

In a system of particles described by the maxwells Boltzmann distribution . What would be the fraction (Nv/V) of the total number of particles 'N' having the speed above the given speed 'Vo'?
I have been puzzling through this answer for quite a while. I' am knew to Quantum mechanics so can anyone explain to me the solution to this problem?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[mikeph]

If Nv is normalised, you need to integrate Nv dv with limits of V0 to infinity. Or, just read off the values from the cumulative distribution function.

Equation (3) here: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MaxwellDistribution.html gives you a formula for the fraction of particles slower than x, so the fraction that are faster would be one minus this answer, ie. 1 - D(V0). Probably good to do this one on a computer.

 

[nonequilibrium]

Also, the Maxwell distribution is not quantummechanical in nature, it is a part of classical mechanics (more precisely, it's a part of classical equilibrium statistical mechanics).