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Q.If 'n' is the number of molecules per unit volume and 'd' is the diameter of the molecules, the mean free path 'λ' of molecules is

(a) 2πnd\sqrt{\dfrac{2}{\pi n d}}
(b) 12πnd2\dfrac{1}{2\pi n d^{2}}
(c) 12πnd2\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}\pi n d^{2}}
(d) 12πnd\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}\pi n d}
Maharashtra MsbshseMaharashtra HSC (MSBSHSE) Board 2023MCQ· 1mImportance★★★★★
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Mean free path follows from the molecular collision cross-section.

A molecule of diameter dd moving among others of number density nn sweeps out a cylindrical volume of cross-section πd2\pi d^{2} per unit path length. Since every molecule is in motion, the relative speed between two colliding molecules is on average 2\sqrt{2} times a single molecule's mean speed, so the number of collisions per unit path length is 2 πd2n\sqrt{2}\,\pi d^{2} n. …

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