Equation 14 · Part 1 · From Origins to Frontier: A History of Stochastic Thermodynamics and Complex Systems
Symbol k_B
What this part means
is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Its job in the formula
is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Full expression→Symbol k_B→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
In 2002, Jan Liphardt, Sophie Dumont, Steven Smith, Ignacio Tinoco Jr, and Carlos Bustamante published “Equilibrium Information from Nonequilibrium Measurements in an Experimental Test of Jarzynski’s Equality” in Science [ 5 ] . They used optical tweezers to unfold and refold a single RNA hairpin molecule repeatedly, at speeds fast enough that the process was thermodynamically irreversible on each individual repetition, then applied the Jarzynski average to recover the equilibrium free energy of unfolding — and found it agreed with the independently measured equilibrium value to within about half of T . This was the first direct experimental confirmation that Jarzynski’s exponential…
Learn the underlying idea
A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.
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Sources cited in the surrounding passage
These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.