Boltzmann Distribution

The Boltzmann distribution, also called the Gibbs distribution, is a probability distribution that gives the probability a physical system will be found in a particular state as a function of that states energy and the systems temperature. It takes the form that the probability of state i is proportional to exp of minus the energy of state i divided by Boltzmanns constant times the temperature, so lower energy states are always more probable than higher energy ones at a given temperature. Ludwig Boltzmann first formulated the distribution in 1868 while studying gases in thermal equilibrium, and Josiah Willard Gibbs extended the framework in 1902, which is why the distribution also carries his name. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/