Boltzmann, Ludwig Eduard
The Austrian Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (1844 - 1906), son to a a revenue official, was a mathematician and theoretical physicist.
The developed the Boltzmann equation to describe the dynamics of an ideal gas. He described the collision of molecules as molecular chaos, an assumption which breaks time-reversal symmetry. The equation has a deceptively simple appearance, but is notoriously difficult to solve.
He lent his name to the Boltzmann equation and the Boltzmann constant kB = 1.380,649·10-23 J·K-1.
See also
Last modified:10 January 2026 12.48 p.m.