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

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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

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Example Sentences

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

Dalton’s law is based on kinetic theory, where each gas creates its pressure by molecular collisions, independent of other gases present.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

There were heated debates about the validity of kinetic theory until direct evidence of atoms was obtained.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

This distribution is called the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, after its originators, who calculated it based on kinetic theory, and has since been confirmed experimentally.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Professor Van der Waals arrived at this relation by relying upon considerations derived from the kinetic theory of gases.

From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien