E N Miranda 2001 Eur. J. Phys. 22 483 doi:10.1088/0143-0807/22/5/303
E N Miranda
Show affiliationsWhen the electronic partition functions of atoms or molecules are evaluated in textbooks, only the contribution of the ground state is considered. The excited states' contribution is argued to be negligible. However, a closer look shows that the partition function diverges if such states are taken into account. This paper shows that the blind use of mathematics is the reason behind this odd behaviour.
05.20.-y Classical statistical mechanics
31.10.+z Theory of electronic structure, electronic transitions, and chemical binding
Issue 5 (September 2001)
Received 9 March 2001, in final form 8 May 2001
Published 20 July 2001
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