The Bohr-van Leeuwen Theorem states that when magnetism is analyzed using classical statistical mechanics and classical electrodynamics alone, a system in thermal equilibrium has exactly zero net magnetization, so magnetism cannot arise at all within a purely classical physical theory. Named for Niels Bohr and Hendrika Johanna van Leeuwen, it is a foundational no-go result showing that the phenomenon of magnetism is inescapably a quantum mechanical effect, with no classical explanation possible even in principle.
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StatementWhen statistical mechanics and classical mechanics are applied consistently, the thermal average of the magnetization is always zero. 1 Classification
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Source Bohr-Van Leeuwen theorem (Wikipedia)
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1. Bohr-Van Leeuwen theorem (Wikipedia)
Introduction
The Bohr-Van Leeuwen theorem states that when statistical mechanics and classical mechanics are applied consistently, the thermal average of the magnetization is always zero.
History
What is today known as the Bohr-Van Leeuwen theorem was discovered by Niels Bohr in 1911 in his doctoral dissertation
In Branch: Mathematical Physics, Lead paragraph
The Bohr-Van Leeuwen theorem states that when statistical mechanics and classical mechanics are applied consistently, the thermal average of the magnetization is always zero.
In Group: Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Lead section
The Bohr-Van Leeuwen theorem states that when statistical mechanics and classical mechanics are applied consistently
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