Problem 6.48 (Schroeder’s Intro to Thermal Physics)

Problem 6.48

For a diatomic gas near room temperature, the internal partition function is simply the rotational partition function computed in Section 6.2, multiplied by the degeneracy of the electronic ground state.

(a) Show that the entropy in this case is

Calculate the entropy of a mole of oxygen at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, and compare to the measured value in the table at the back of this book.*

(b) Calculate the chemical potential of oxygen in earth’s atmosphere near sea level, at room temperature. Express the answer in electron-volts.

Solution:

Problem 6.48 Solution (Download)

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