Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
The branch of physics that uses statistical laws to make theoretical predictions about macroscopic systems of particles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
the branch of physics that makes theoretical predictions about the behavior of macroscopic systems on the basis of statistical laws governing its component particles
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: physics, natural philosophy
History
Coined by American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs in 1884, with a presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science titled "On the Fundamental Formula of Statistical Mechanics, with Applications to Astronomy and Thermodynamics". He attributed the choice of the word "statistical" to James Clerk Maxwell.
Across languages
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
