Question

What is phase space ? In a system containing N particles, each particle has three translational and two rotational degrees of freedom. Calculate the dimensions of the phase space.

Answer 1

Phase space refers to the plotting of both a particle's momentum and position on a two dimensional graph. It also refers to the tracking of N particles in a 2N dimensional space.

The minimum size of phase cell in classical and quantum statistics is 2. The particle are not closely packed and can be easily differentiated.

The position of a particle, its energy and interaction force among them can also be determined in classical statistics. While in quantum statistics, the particles can not be distinguished and exist as a one state.