Debye function
Encyclopedia
In mathematics
, the family of Debye functions is defined by
The functions are named in honor of Peter Debye
, who came across this function (with n = 3) in 1912 when he analytically computed the heat capacity
of a solid. His method is now called the Debye model
.
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, the family of Debye functions is defined by
The functions are named in honor of Peter Debye
Peter Debye
Peter Joseph William Debye FRS was a Dutch physicist and physical chemist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry.-Early life:...
, who came across this function (with n = 3) in 1912 when he analytically computed the heat capacity
Heat capacity
Heat capacity , or thermal capacity, is the measurable physical quantity that characterizes the amount of heat required to change a substance's temperature by a given amount...
of a solid. His method is now called the Debye model
Debye model
In thermodynamics and solid state physics, the Debye model is a method developed by Peter Debye in 1912 for estimating the phonon contribution to the specific heat in a solid. It treats the vibrations of the atomic lattice as phonons in a box, in contrast to the Einstein model, which treats the...
.
External links
- Fortran 77 code by Allan MacLeod from Transactions on Mathematical Software
- Fortran 90 version
- "Debye function" entry in MathWorld