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In physics, thermalisation (or thermalization) is the process of physical bodies reaching thermal equilibrium through mutual interaction. In general, the natural tendency of a system is towards a state of equipartition of energy and uniform temperature that maximizes the system's entropy .
The original intent was to find a physics problem worthy of numerical simulation on the then-new MANIAC computer. Fermi felt that thermalization would pose such a challenge. As such, it represents one of the earliest uses of digital computers in mathematical research; simultaneously, the unexpected results launched the study of nonlinear systems.
In the cosmological 'thermalization problem', three main eras are distinguished: the thermalization or temperature-era, the -era and the -era, each with slightly different physical conditions due to the change in the density and temperature of particles caused by the Hubble expansion.
Examples of this would include the occupation of a given momentum in a gas of particles, [4] [5] or the occupation of a particular site in a lattice system of particles. [5] Notice that while the ETH is typically applied to "simple" few-body operators such as these, [ 4 ] these observables need not be local in space [ 5 ] - the momentum number ...
The classical Stefan problem aims to describe the evolution of the boundary between two phases of a material undergoing a phase change, for example the melting of a solid, such as ice to water. This is accomplished by solving heat equations in both regions, subject to given boundary and initial conditions.
Textbook quantum statistical mechanics [2] assumes that systems go to thermal equilibrium (thermalization). The process of thermalization erases local memory of the initial conditions. In textbooks, thermalization is ensured by coupling the system to an external environment or "reservoir," with which the system can exchange energy.
This problem led to the infamous Windscale fire at the Windscale Piles, a nuclear reactor complex in the United Kingdom, in 1957. In a carbon dioxide cooled graphite moderated reactor where coolant and moderator are in contact with one another, the Boudouard reaction needs to be taken into account.
The Thomson problem also plays a role in the study of other physical models including multi-electron bubbles and the surface ordering of liquid metal drops confined in Paul traps. The generalized Thomson problem arises, for example, in determining arrangements of protein subunits that comprise the shells of spherical viruses. The "particles" in ...