A short derivation of Boltzmann distribution and Gibbs entropy formula from the fundamental postulate

Didier Lairez

Published 2022-11-04Version 1

Introducing the Boltzmann distribution very early in a statistical thermodynamics course (in the spirit of Feynmann) has many didactic advantages, in particular that of easily deriving the Gibbs entropy formula. In this note, a short derivation is proposed from the fundamental postulate of statistical mechanics and basics calculations accessible to undergraduate students.