JCE Online Journal of Chemical Education
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   DigiDemos
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2005  > June  >
In the Classroom
Advanced Chemistry Classroom and Laboratory
Positive and Negative Temperatures in a Two-Level System: Thermodynamic and Statistical-Mechanical Perspectives
Mark B. Masthay and Harry B. Fannin
Department of Chemistry, Murray State University, Murray, KY 42071-3346
Cover
June 2005
Vol. 82 No. 6
p. 867
Abstract
Transient negative temperature states have been reported for a range of systems having a finite number of energy levels. While such systems are rare and seem to contradict the common notion that temperature is always positive, they provide an effective platform for illustrating the relationship between the thermodynamic and statistical-mechanical formulations of temperature. In this article we present a set of calculations for a two-level system containing N particles (1 ≤ N ≤ ∞) that graphically illustrates the statistical nature of temperature as well as the fundamental equivalence of its thermodynamic and statistical-mechanical formulations. These calculations, which we have applied in our undergraduate- and graduate-level physical chemistry courses, provide pedagogically useful insights into the meaning of a variety of thermodynamic and statistical mechanical concepts that students frequently have difficulty grasping.
More Information
*  Citation
 Masthay, Mark B.; Fannin, Harry B. J. Chem. Educ. 2005 82 867.
*  Keywords
 Computational Chemistry; Enrichment / Review Materials; Physical Chemistry; Problem Solving / Decision Making; Quantitative Analysis; Statistical Mechanics; Thermodynamics; Upper-Division Undergraduate
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 April 27, 2005
May 6, 2005
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2005 > June > Page 867


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.