kinetic theory

British  

noun

1. In full: the kinetic theory of gases.  a theory of gases postulating that they consist of particles of negligible size moving at random and undergoing elastic collisions

---

kinetic theory Scientific  

1. A fundamental theory of matter that explains physical properties in terms of the motion of atoms and molecules. In kinetic theory, properties such as pressure and temperature are viewed as statistical properties of the overall behavior of large numbers of particles. For example, the pressure exerted by a gas on an object is the net result of the numerous collisions of the gas molecules against the object.

2. See also pressure statistical mechanics temperature thermodynamics

---

Example Sentences

Also during the 19th century, the kinetic theory of gases was developed.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

We gain a better understanding of pressure and temperature from the kinetic theory of gases, which assumes that atoms and molecules are in continuous random motion.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The kinetic theory of gases, on the other hand, is a model in which a gas is viewed as being composed of atoms and molecules.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The Austrian physicist Johann Josef Loschmidt was the first to measure the value of the constant in 1865 using the kinetic theory of gases.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

In the first place the kinetic theory fixes the number of degrees of freedom of each gaseous molecule, which would be three for argon, for instance, and five for oxygen.

From A Librarian's Open Shelf by Bostwick, Arthur E.