Question 11/04
GAS OF ROTATORS
Consider a very dilute gas of thin rodlike molecules. The kinetic
energy of such a gas is significantly larger than kinetic energy
of an ideal gas of point-like objects, because each rotational degree
of freedom has (on the average) kinetic energy (1/2)kT. Nevertheless,
the pressure of the gas is the same as of point-like molecules.
Show from dynamical considerations that the rotational degrees
of freedom do not contribute to the pressure.
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