For the constant pertaining to energy of black body radiation see StefanBoltzmann constant The Boltzmann constant (k or kB)

is the physical constant relating energy at the individual particle level with temperature, which must necessarily be observed at the collective or bulk level. It is the gas constant R divided by the Avogadro constant NA: Values of k[1] 1.3806488(13)1023 8.6173324(78)105 1.3806488(13)1016 Units JK1 eVK1 ergK1

For details, see Value in different units below.

sarily be observed at the collective or bulk level. It is the gas constant R divided by the Avogadro constant NA: It has the same units as entropy.

Bridge from macroscopic to microscopic physics The Boltzmann constant, k, is a bridge between macroscopic and microscopic physics, since temperature (T) makes sense only in the macroscopic world, while the quantity kT gives a quantity of energy which is on the order of, though rarely exactly the same as, the energy of a given atom in a substance with a temperature T. Macroscopically, the ideal gas law states that, for an ideal gas, the product of pressure P and volume V is proportional to the product of amount of substance n (in moles) and absolute temperature T: where R is the gas constant (8.3144621(75) JK1mol1[1]). Introducing the Boltzmann constant transforms the ideal gas law into an equation about the microscopic properties of molecules,[citation needed][dubious discuss] where N is the number of molecules of gas. (For n = 1 i.e. for 1 mole, N is equal to NA, the Avogadro constant.) Thus, the left hand side of the equation is a macroscopic amount of pressure-volume work represented by the state of the bulk gas. The right hand side divides this energy into N units, one for each gas molecule, each of which represents kT amount of energy. [edit] Role in the equipartition of energy Given a thermodynamic system at an absolute temperature T, the thermal energy carried by each microscopic "degree of freedom" in the system is on the order of magnitude of kT/2 (i.e., about 2.071021 J, or 0.013 eV, at room temperature). [edit] Application to simple gas thermodynamics In classical statistical mechanics, this average is predicted to hold exactly for homogeneous ideal gases. Monatomic ideal gases possess three degrees of freedom per atom, corresponding to the three spatial directions, which means a thermal energy of 1.5kT per atom (in the general case, DkT/2, where D is the number of spatial dimensions). As indicated in the article on heat capacity, this corresponds very well with experimental data. The thermal energy can be used to calculate the root mean square speed of the atoms, which is inversely proportional to the square root of the atomic mass. The root mean square speeds found at room temperature accurately reflect this, ranging from 1370 m/s for helium, down to 240 m/s for xenon. Kinetic theory gives the average pressure P for an ideal gas as Substituting that the average translational kinetic energy is gives so the ideal gas equation is regained. The ideal gas equation is also followed quite well for molecular gases; but the form for the heat capacity is more complicated, because the molecules possess new internal degrees of freedom, as well as the three degrees of freedom for movement of the molecule as a whole. Diatomic gases, for example, possess a total of seven degrees of simple freedom per molecule that are related to atomic motion (three translational, two rotational, and two vibrational). At lower temperatures, not all these degrees of freedom may fully participate in the gas heat capacity, due to quantum mechanical limits on the availability of excited states, at the thermal energy available. [edit] Role in Boltzmann factors More generally, systems in equilibrium at temperature T have probability p of occupying a state i with energy E weighted by the corresponding Boltzmann factor: Where Z is the partition function. Again, it is the energy-like quantity kT which takes central importance. Consequences of this include (in addition to the results for ideal gases above) the Arrhenius equation in chemical kinetics.

Noise temperature From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search In electronics, noise temperature is one way of expressing the level of available noise power introduced by a component or source. The power spectral density of the noise is expressed in terms of the temperature (in kelvins) that would produce that level of JohnsonNyquist noise, thus: where: P is the power (in watts) B is the total bandwidth (Hz) over which that noise power is measured kB is the Boltzmann constant (1.3811023 J/K, joules per kelvin) T is the noise temperature (K) Thus the noise temperature is proportional to the power spectral density of the noise, P / B. That is the power that would be absorbed from the component or source by a matched load. Noise temperature is generally a function of frequency, unlike that of an ideal resistor which is simply equal to the actual temperature of the resistor at all frequencies.

Noise temperature Updated October 28, 2011 Click here to go to our main page on noise figure Click here to go to our page on noise parameters Please feel free to contribute to this humble page, like Gene did!

Noise temperature is another way of expressing signal-to-noise degradation, and is often used in radio astronomy.

T=noise temperature=290*(F-1) Here, F is the noise factor (not noise figure). The "290" in the expression is used to denote a standardized temperature in Kelvin, which in this case is close to room temperature (290 K is an IEEE standard). We have seen "T" expressed as TN, or Te (equivalent noise temperature). Note that noise temperature of an amplifier is not directly related to the temperature of an amplifier. Below is a plot of noise temperature versus noise figure. Perhaps if you want to remember a few points to impress your friends remember that 1 dB NF is about 75 degrees Kelvin, and 3 dB is 288 Kelvin (nearly room temperature). Noise temperature is used mainly in radio astronomy. Emerging applications of microwave and millimeterwave radiometers have made it important for many of us all to be able to switch back and forth between the two scales. To convert from one to the other: Noise temperature (T) = 290 * (10^(NF/10)-1) (degrees Kelvin) While we're on the subject, Noise figure (NF) = 10 * log (noise factor) dB Regarding our rule of thumb about noise figure of a passive device (#56 last time we checked)... Gene sent in these comments. Thanks!

Linear passive devices have noise figure equal to their loss. Expressed in dB, the NF is equal to -S21(dB). Something with one dB loss has one dB noise figure. May I suggest a more refined definition of this rule? This statement is true only if the passive linear device is at room temperature. However, if it is at a different physical temperature than room temperature (or To for that matter), the noise figure will be different. If I did my calculation properly, I believe that the noise figure would be F = 1+(1/G-1)*Tp/To Where G is the gain of the device (less than or equal to 1), and Tp is the physical temperature of the device. Therefore, I would recommend that the statement should say, "Linear passive devices at room temperature have a noise figure equal to their loss. Expressed in dB, the NF is equal to -S21(dB). Something with one dB loss has one dB noise figure at room temperature." I know that the NF wouldn't change very much if the device is at a physical temperature near room temperature, but if some poor slob is working at temperatures very different than room temperature, their assumption that the NF would be equal to the loss would be incorrect.