A simple statistical mechanical description of the atmosphere composed of small particles around massive spherical body

Kralj-Iglič, Veronika (author)

The atmosphere of small particles around a spherical massive body is theoretically described starting from statistical mechanical principles combined with the field approach. It is assumed that the system is in thermodynamic equilibrium and that the small particles are explicitly independent and therefore subjected to the Boltzmann statistics. The model system is the atmosphere of small particles that are attracted to the spherical massive body while their complete approach to the surface of this body is hindered by thermal motion. The gravitational attraction between the molecules and the massive object is described by introducing a potential of the attractive field and by considering that the massive object is the source of the field. The above assumptions lead to the formulation of the variational problem based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics in the form of the consistently-related system of differential equations for the gravitational potential and the distribution of the molecules within the atmosphere.

• Language: English
• Keywords: gravitation, atmosphere, gravitational potential
• Work type: Scientific work
• Typology: 1.08 - Published Scientific Conference Contribution
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 141-146
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-168409
• UDC: 53
• DOI: 10.55295/PSL.12.2025.II14
• COBISS.SI-ID: 232308995
• Publication date in RUL: 11.04.2025

Record is a part of a monograph

• Title: Socratic Lectures : 12th international symposium, Ljubljana, January 11, 2025
• Editors: Veronika Kralj-Iglič, Anna Romolo, Yelena Istileulova
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana Press
• Year: 2025
• ISBN: 978-961-297-551-7
• COBISS.SI-ID: 228834307

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.