The particle number (or number of particles) of a thermodynamic system, conventionally indicated with the letter ''N'', is the number of constituent particles in that system. The particle number is a fundamental parameter in

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...

which is conjugate to the

chemical potential In thermodynamics, the chemical potential of a species is the energy that can be absorbed or released due to a change of the particle number of the given species, e.g. in a chemical reaction or phase transition. The chemical potential of a speci ...

. Unlike most

physical quantities A physical quantity is a physical property of a material or system that can be quantified by measurement. A physical quantity can be expressed as a ''value'', which is the algebraic multiplication of a ' Numerical value ' and a ' Unit '. For exam ...

, particle number is a

dimensionless quantity A dimensionless quantity (also known as a bare quantity, pure quantity, or scalar quantity as well as quantity of dimension one) is a quantity to which no physical dimension is assigned, with a corresponding SI unit of measurement of one (or 1 ...

. It is an

extensive parameter Physical properties of materials and systems can often be categorized as being either intensive or extensive, according to how the property changes when the size (or extent) of the system changes. According to IUPAC, an intensive quantity is one ...

, as it is directly proportional to the size of the system under consideration, and thus meaningful only for closed systems. A constituent particle is one that cannot be broken into smaller pieces at the scale of

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

''k·T'' involved in the process (where ''k'' is the

Boltzmann constant The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas constan ...

and ''T'' is the

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

). For example, for a thermodynamic system consisting of a piston containing water vapour, the particle number is the number of water molecules in the system. The meaning of constituent particle, and thereby of particle number, is thus temperature-dependent.

Determining the particle number

The concept of particle number has a main role in theoretical considerations. In situations where the actual particle number of a given thermodynamical system needs to be determined, mainly in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

, it is not practically possible to measure it directly by counting the particles. If the material is homogeneous and has a known '' amount of substance'' ''n'' expressed in '' moles'', the particle number ''N'' can be found by the relation :

N = nN_A

, where ''N_A'' is the

Avogadro constant The Avogadro constant, commonly denoted or , is the proportionality factor that relates the number of constituent particles (usually molecules, atoms or ions) in a sample with the amount of substance in that sample. It is an SI defining ...

Particle number density

A related intensive system parameter is given by the particle

number density The number density (symbol: ''n'' or ''ρ''N) is an intensive quantity used to describe the degree of concentration of countable objects (particles, molecules, phonons, cells, galaxies, etc.) in physical space: three-dimensional volumetric num ...

, obtained by dividing the particle number of a system by its

volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). ...

. This parameter is often denoted by a lower-case letter ''n''.

In quantum mechanics

In quantum mechanical processes the total number of particles may not be preserved. The concept is therefore generalized to the particle number operator, that is, the observable that counts the number of constituent particles. In quantum field theory, the particle number operator (see Fock state) is conjugate to the phase of the ''classical'' wave (see

coherent state In physics, specifically in quantum mechanics, a coherent state is the specific quantum state of the quantum harmonic oscillator, often described as a state which has dynamics most closely resembling the oscillatory behavior of a classical h ...

In air quality

One measure of

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

used in air quality standards is the atmospheric concentration of particulate matter. This measure is usually expressed in μg/m³ (

micrograms In the metric system, a microgram or microgramme is a unit of mass equal to one millionth () of a gram. The unit symbol is μg according to the International System of Units (SI); the recommended symbol in the United States and United Kingdom ...

per cubic metre). In the current EU emission norms for cars, vans and trucks and in the upcoming EU emission norm for non-road mobile machinery, particle number measurements and limits are defined, commonly referred to as ''PN'', with units /kmor /kWh In this case PN expresses a quantity of particles per unit distance (or work).

References

{{Mole concepts Thermodynamics Dimensionless numbers of thermodynamics Countable quantities State functions