Numerical simulation of free expansion of an ideal gas

Abstract

Classical statistical thermodynamics was developed in the second half of the 19th century. The implied fact is that since then all processes and effects that fall into the domain of classical statistical thermodynamics have been discovered and explained. However, analyzing the outputs from our numerical model of an ideal gas, we noticed that the atoms separate during the expansion of the gas into empty space. This separation occurs as a consequence of the distribution of molecules by velocities. Namely, faster molecules will move further away from their initial position than slower ones. The objective of this paper is to describe the existence of this process and to present some basic physical consequences of this effect.