So it's NOT going to happen. Two things stand out from these trials. The deviation grows more slowly than the average. In fact, in the limit of large numbers, the deviation grows on the order of the square root of the number. And so it is with virtually any variation from thermodynamic equilibrium of any sort.
Thermodynamic tables are secure.
The statistics of large numbers makes for very trustworthy averages. Were we to deal with molecules a few at a time, all bets would be off. So equilibrium arguments should be made with caution unless one has a comforting Avogadro's Number of molecules to back one up. Return to the CHM 5414 Lecture Notes or Go To Next or Previous Lectures. Last modified 18 September 1997.