MEAN FREE

PATH
 Mean Free Path
A molecule traveling through
a gas collides with other gas
molecules in its path.
Molecule collide elastically
with other molecules.
Between collisions, the
molecule moves in a straight
line at constant speed.
Although the other molecules
are shown as stationary, they
are also moving in a similar Figure 1 shows the path of a
fashion. typical molecule as it moves
through the gas
Mean Free Path
The mean free path, , is the
average distance traversed by a
molecule between consecutive
collisions.
The expression for the mean free
path does, in fact, turn out to be:
1

2d N / V
2
d is diameter of molecule.
N/V is the number of molecules per unit volume (or
density of molecules).
Consider N spherical molecules in a
volume V.
Suppose only one molecule is traveling
with a constant speed v and all the
other molecules are at rest.
We assume further that the molecules
are spheres of diameter d.
When it collides with another
molecule, the distance between centers
is d.
i.e. A collision will take place if the
centers of two molecules come
within a distance d of each other.
(a) A collision occurs when the
centers of two molecules come
within a distance d of each other,
d being the molecular diameter.

(b) An equivalent but more

convenient representation is to
think of the moving molecule as
having a diameter 2d and all other
molecules as being points .

The condition for a collision is unchanged.

As our single molecule zigzags through the gas, it sweeps
out a short cylinder of cross-sectional area d2 between
successive collisions.
In time interval t, it moves a distance vt, where v is its
assumed speed.

The volume of the cylinder of cross-sectional area d2 and

length vt is

= (d2 )(vt)
The number of collisions that occur in time t is then equal to
the number of (point) molecules that lie within this cylinder.
Since N/V is the number of molecules per unit volume.
The number of molecules in the cylinder is N/V times the
volume of the cylinder i.e.
N
N cyl  Vcyl = (N/V)(d2vt)
V
This is also the number of collisions experienced by our
molecule in time t.
The mean free path is

Eq. 1
 Eq. 2

This equation is only approximate because it is based on

the assumption that all the molecules except one are at rest.
In fact, all the molecules are moving and the collisions are
more frequent, when this is taken properly into account, the
1
above equation has to be multiplied by a factor of
2

Eq. 3

The mean free path is inversely proportional to the number

of molecules per unit volume (N/V).
and inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area of a
molecule (d2).
 1

2d N / V
2

The bigger the molecules, The more molecules,

the more collisions the more collisions

Note that the mean free path does not depend on the
speed of the molecule.
If you try to walk through a crowd, your
mean free path—the distance you can travel
on average without running into another
person—depends on how large the people
are and how closely they are spaced.
 Eq. 3

Eq. 3 can also be expressed in terms of macroscopic

properties of the gas by using the ideal-gas equation
pV = NkT
N/V = p/kT
Substituting this into Eq. 3,

Eq. 4

This equation relates two microscopic quantities (

and d) to two macroscopic quantities (p and T).
Checkpoint:
One mole of gas A, with molecular diameter 2do and
average molecular speed vo, is placed inside a certain
container. One mole of gas B, with molecular diameter
do and average molecular speed 2vo (the molecules of B
are smaller but faster), is placed in an identical
container. Which gas has the greater average collision
rate within its container?
Hint:
Number of collisions in time t is (N/V)(d2vt)
Ans. gas A
 Chapter 19 Kinetic Theory

Checkpoint
One mole of gas A, with molecular diameter 2do and average
molecular speed vo, is placed inside a certain container. One mole of
gas B with molecular diameter do and average molecular speed 2vo is
placed in an identical container.
Which gas has greater average collision rate within its container?

A 1

 2 d A2 N A V 
, N A  NB
t A A vA

 v
 A o 
1
B 1  2 d B2 N B V  t B B v B 4A 2vo 2

f A 1 t A tB
A 1 d A2 1 (2d 0 ) 2 1   2
   f B 1 tB tA
B 1 d B 1 ( d 0 )
2 2
4
Gas A has the greater
 B  4A average collision rate

1

2 d 2 N V
President University Erwin Sitompul Thermal Physics 5/13
Question:
(a) What is the mean free path for oxygen molecules at
temperature 300 K and pressure 1.0 atm? Assume that
the molecular diameter is 290 pm and the gas is ideal.

Solution: Since

This is about 380 molecular diameters.

(b) Assume the average speed of the oxygen molecules is
v = 450 m/s. What is the average time between successive
collisions for any given molecule? At what rate does the
molecule collide; i.e., what is the frequency f of its
collisions?
Solution:

i.e. on average, any given oxygen molecule makes

about 4 billion collisions per second.
Question:
The atmospheric density at an altitude of 2500 km is about
1 molecule/cm3. (a) Assuming the molecular diameter of
2.0 × 108 cm, find the mean free path predicted. (b)
Explain whether the predicted value is meaningful.
Solution:
Substituting d = 2.0 × 10–10 m and
N/V = 1 × 106 molecules/m3, we obtain
Question:
At 20 oC and 750 torr pressure, the mean free paths for argon
gas (Ar) and nitrogen gas (N2) are Ar = 9.9 × 106 cm and
𝜆𝑁2 = 27.5 × 106 cm. (a) Find the ratio of the diameter of an
Ar atom to that of an N2 molecule
Solution:
 Class Group Assignments
1. How many moles of air must escape from a 10 m × 8 m × 5 m room when the
temperature is raised from 0°C to 20°C? Assume the pressure remains
unchanged at one atmosphere while the room is heated.
(a) 1.3 × 103 moles (d) 1.2 × 103 moles
(b) 7.5 × 102 moles (e) 3.7 × 102 moles
(c) 1.4 × 102 moles
2. Two ideal gases, X and Y, are thoroughly mixed and at thermal equilibrium in a
single container. The molecular mass of X is 9 times that of Y. What is the ratio
of root-mean-square velocities of the two gases, vrms,X/vrms,Y?
(a) 9/1 (b) 3/1 (c) 1/3 (d) 1/9 (e) 1/1
3. The rms speed of an oxygen molecule at 0°C is 460 m/s. If the molar mass of
oxygen is 32 g and that of helium is 4 g, then the rms speed of a helium
molecule at 0°C is:
(a) 230 m/s (b) 326 m/s (c) 650 m/s (d) 920 m/s (e) 1300 m/s

4. In a certain gas the molecules are 5.0×10–9 m apart on average, have a mean free
path of 5.0×10–6 m, and have an average speed of 500 m/s. The rate at which a
molecule has collisions with other molecules is about:
(a) 10–11 s–1 (b) 10–8 s–1 (c) 1 s–1 (d) 108 s–1 (e) 1011 s–1
Homework
1.The temperature and pressure in the Sun’s atmosphere are
2.00×106 K and 0.0300 Pa. Calculate the rms speed of free
electrons (mass 9.11×10–31 kg) there, assuming they are an
ideal gas.

2. At 20°C and 750 torr pressure, the mean free paths for argon
gas (Ar) and nitrogen gas (N2) are λAr = 9.9×10–6 cm and λN2 =
27.5×10–6 cm.
(a) Find the ratio of the diameter of an Ar atom to that of an
N2 molecule.
(b) What is the mean free path of argon at 20°C and 150
torr?
(c) What is the mean free path of argon at –40°C and 750 torr?

Deadline: Not Applicable.