← All parts of this equation

Equation 17 · Part 1 · The Arrow of Time and the Engine of Evolution

Symbol e^(W-Δ F)/k_mathrm BT

e(W−ΔF)/kBTe^{(W-\Delta F)/k_{\mathrm B}T}
e(W−ΔF)/kBTe^{(W-\Delta F)/k_{\mathrm B}T}

What this part means

e^(W-Δ F)/kmk_mathrm BT 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

e^(W-Δ F)/kmk_mathrm BT is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.

The passage around this formula

[ 6 ] . Where W exactly equals Δ\Delta F , the ratio is one and the forward distribution crosses the reflected reverse distribution; away from that point, the ratio grows exponentially in how far W departs from Δ\Delta F , which is the precise, quantitative sense in which a trajectory doing much more work than the equilibrium minimum is exponentially more typical of the forward process than of its reverse. This is the arrow of time rendered as an odds ratio rather than an inequality: not “entropy increases,” but “this particular trajectory is e(W−ΔF)/kBTe^{(W-\Delta F)/k_{\mathrm B}T} times more likely to have been produced running forward than running backward.”

Read this part in the article →

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.

Open the illustrated subscripts: which member of a family? guide →

See this notation across published equations →

Sources cited in the surrounding passage

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.