The Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution of Molecular Speeds

Control console

Expose the drum to the beam for a fixed time and read the number of atoms deposited on each detector strip.

Charge in the oven

Oven temperature

Drum speed

rev/s

Exposure

pwrmeasfault

Select the charge and the oven temperature, and set the drum speed so that the deposit falls well inside the strip array.
Expose the drum. The apparatus reports the counts on all sixty strips.
Convert each strip position s to a speed using v = 2 R^2 omega / s, and the counts to a probability density using the Jacobian.
Fit the beam distribution and obtain alpha, and hence the oven temperature.
Repeat at three oven temperatures and confirm that alpha scales as the square root of T.
Repeat with the unlabelled charge and identify it.

standby

No readings on this channel yet. Set the controls and press Expose drum.

A fresh page. Take your first reading and it will be entered here.

Take at least one reading to plot.