ABC26PH0197 · Statistical Thermodynamics

Subject: Physical Chemistry · Chapter: Statistical Thermodynamics · Topic: Partition Functions · Exam: CSIR-NET JUNE 2012 · Marks: 2 · Difficulty: Medium

The energy levels of the harmonic oscillator (neglecting zero point energy) are $\epsilon(n)=$ nhv and $n=0,1,2, \ldots$. Assuming T partition function is :
(a)e
(b)1/e
(c)$1-\frac{1}{e}$
(d)rac{1}{1-rac{1}{e}}
Answer
Answer (as printed): D
Explanation
We know that $\epsilon(n)=nh\nu$ ......(1) and, assuming $h\nu=k_{B}T$ ......(2). From (1) and (2), the partition function $q=\displaystyle\sum_{n} e^{-nh\nu/k_{B}T}=\dfrac{1}{1-e^{-1}}=\dfrac{1}{1-\frac{1}{e}}$.

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