- #1
JordanGo
- 73
- 0
Homework Statement
A classical gas consists of N molecules; each molecule is composed of two atoms
connected by a spring. Identify the dimensionality of the phase space that can be used to
describe a microstate of the system.
The Attempt at a Solution
I believe the answer is 12, but I'm not sure why. Since there are three cartesian coordinates (say x,y,z) and 3 corresponding conjugate momenta (px,py,pz). Thus the dimensionality is 6. But why would you multiply it by 2 to get 12?
* Should I say 3N coordinates and 3N conjugate momenta?