The Dynamical Theory of Gases and of Radiation

Abstract

I AM glad to have elicited the very clear statement of his view which Mr. Jeans gives in NATURE of April 27. In general outline it corresponds pretty closely with that expressed by O. Reynolds in a British Association discussion at Aberdeen (NATURE, vol. xxxii. p. 534, 1885). The various modes of molecular motion are divided into two sharply separated groups. Within one group including the translatory modes, equipartition of energy is supposed to establish itself within a small fraction of a second; but between the modes of this group and those of vibration included in the other group, equipartition may require, Mr. Jeans thinks, millions of years. Even if minutes were substituted for years, we must admit, I think, that the law of equipartition is reconciled with all that is absolutely proved by our experiments upon specific heat, which are, indeed, somewhat rough in all cases, and especially imperfect in so far as they relate to what may happen over long intervals of time.