History of Maxwell's Velocity distribution law
In 1859, J.C. Maxwell first obtained the distribution law of gas molecule velocity, and later, it was strictly derived from collision theory for L. Boltzmann. Therefore, it is also named after James Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann. Ideal gas molecules in equilibrium move at different speeds. Due to collisions, the speed of each molecule changes continuously, giving the molecules a variety of speeds. Because the number of molecules is large and the size and direction of the molecular velocity are random, it is impossible to know how many molecules have a certain velocity υ, but it is possible to know how many molecules have a velocity between υ1 and υ2. Maxwell first obtained the ratio of the number of molecules distributed in any rate range υ ~ υ + dυ to the total number of molecules when the interaction between gas molecules is negligible in the equilibrium state.