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aaaa202
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I'm not sure that I understand the equipartition theorem intuitively. In general the thermal energy for a body is:
U = Nf/2kT
So more degrees of freedom, means that the temperature raises less for a fixed energy input:
dU = N f/2 k dT
Now temperature is a measure of an objects willingness to give up energy. Why would this depend on how many degrees of freedom a system has. I.e. why would a system with only one degree of freedom receiving a fixed amount of energy get more willing to give up this energy than a system with 100 degrees of freedom receiving the same amount of energy?
U = Nf/2kT
So more degrees of freedom, means that the temperature raises less for a fixed energy input:
dU = N f/2 k dT
Now temperature is a measure of an objects willingness to give up energy. Why would this depend on how many degrees of freedom a system has. I.e. why would a system with only one degree of freedom receiving a fixed amount of energy get more willing to give up this energy than a system with 100 degrees of freedom receiving the same amount of energy?