Boltzmann constant

Physical constant relating energy with temperature and other intensive physical quantities

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The Boltzmann constant is a number that describes how energy and temperature are related to each other in physics. It's important because it appears in many fundamental equations that help scientists understand how heat, atoms, and molecules behave.

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numeric value: 0.00000000000000000000001380649

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The Boltzmann constant (kB or k) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative thermal energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin (K) and the molar gas constant, in Planck's law of black-body radiation and Boltzmann's entropy formula, and is used in calculating thermal noise in resistors. The Boltzmann constant has dimensions of energy divided by temperature, the same as entropy and heat capacity. It is named after the Austrian scientist Ludwig Boltzmann.

As part of the 2019 revision of the SI, the Boltzmann constant is one of the seven "defining constants" that have been defined so as to have exact finite decimal values in SI units. They are used in various combinations to define the seven SI base units. The Boltzmann constant is defined to be exactly 1.380649×10 joules per kelvin, with the effect of defining the SI unit kelvin.