18 Equilibrium Properties of Model Systems

Abstract

To illustrate the principles that have been analyzed analytically and in a rather abstract way mainly in Chap. 9, we now turn to some numerical data, based on a certain type of models. These models are still rather abstract and may thus be viewed as models for a whole class of concrete physical situations, which are always taken to consist of two subsystems (confer Fig. 7.1), the considered system (gas, g) and the environment (container, c). These subsystems are specified by their respective spectra only, or, rather, those respective parts that play any role at all under the condition of energy conservation. What sort of physical structure could give rise to those spectra is not considered here, since it turns out to be irrelevant to some extent.