mean free path

Noun

Meaning

English Wikipedia has an article on:mean free pathWikipedia
mean free path (plural mean free paths)

(physics) the average distance travelled between two similar events; especially by molecules in a gas or liquid, electrons or phonons in a crystal or neutrons in a moderator

Examples

Although performance is extremely high ( ~ 10 4 -10 5 sec), the long mean free path results in very low energy utilization ( ~ 10%) Antimatter power generation The idea of using antimatter to power an electric space drive has also been proposed. Source: Internet

For example, many aerodynamics applications deal with aircraft flying in atmospheric conditions, where the mean free path length is on the order of micrometers. Source: Internet

Copper nanowires less than 40 nm wide will shorten the mean free path to the wire width. Source: Internet

Except for high quality crystals at low temperatures, the phonon mean free path is not reduced significantly at higher temperatures. Source: Internet

First, there is scattering from the wire boundaries, whose effect will be very significant whenever the wire width is below the free electron mean free path of the bulk material. Source: Internet

For the continuum assumption to be valid, the mean free path length must be much smaller than the length scale of the application in question. Source: Internet

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