Sackur–Tetrode equation


The Sackur–Tetrode equation is an expression for the entropy of a monatomic classical ideal gas which incorporates quantum considerations.
The Sackur–Tetrode equation is named for Hugo Martin Tetrode and Otto Sackur, who developed it independently as a solution of Boltzmann's gas statistics and entropy equations, at about the same time in 1912.

Formula

The Sackur–Tetrode equation is this:
where V is the volume of the gas, N is the number of particles in the gas, U is the internal energy of the gas, k is Boltzmann's constant, m is the mass of a gas particle, h is Planck's constant, and ln is the natural logarithm. For a derivation of the Sackur–Tetrode equation, see the Gibbs paradox. For the constraints placed upon the entropy of an ideal gas by thermodynamics alone, see the ideal gas article.
The Sackur–Tetrode equation can also be conveniently expressed in terms of the thermal wavelength.
Note that the assumption was made that the gas is in the classical regime, and is described by Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics. From the definition of the thermal wavelength, this means the Sackur–Tetrode equation is only valid for
and in fact, the entropy predicted by the Sackur–Tetrode equation approaches negative infinity as the temperature approaches zero.

Sackur–Tetrode constant

The Sackur–Tetrode constant, written S0/R, is equal to S/kN evaluated at a temperature of T = 1 kelvin, at standard pressure, for one mole of an ideal gas composed of particles of mass equal to the atomic mass constant. Its 2018 CODATA recommended value is:

Derivation from information theoretic perspective

In addition to using the thermodynamic perspective of entropy, the tools of information theory can be used to provide an information perspective of entropy. The Sackur–Tetrode equation for entropy can be derived in information theoretic terms. The equation can be seen to consist of the sum of four entropies : due to positional uncertainty, momenta uncertainty, the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle, and the indistinguishability of the particles.
Including k, the Sackur–Tetrode equation is then given as
The derivation uses the Stirling's approximation,. Strictly speaking, the use of dimensioned arguments to the logarithms is incorrect, however their use is a "shortcut" made for simplicity. If each logarithmic argument were divided by an unspecified standard value expressed in terms of an unspecified standard mass, length and time, these standard values would cancel in the final result, yielding the same conclusion. The individual entropy terms will not be absolute, but will rather depend upon the standards chosen, and will differ with different standards by an additive constant.