ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the fundamentals of the aptly named Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. The study of thermodynamics is greatly advanced by considering how macroscopic thermal behavior depends on the behavior of atoms and molecules. It is impossible to measure and predict the motions of a large number of individual molecules, on the order of Avogadro's number or more. For that reason it is necessary to apply the laws of statistics. The chapter describes entropy and discusses the connection between the increase in entropy of the universe associated with an irreversible process and the decrease in the energy that is available for performing work. James Clerk Maxwell's original conception depended on precise measurements of the positions and velocities of individual molecules, so that the hole could be opened and closed in such a way to perform the imagined sorting. The measurement process involves some physical interaction, which may add enough entropy to the system to offset the entropy reduction created by the demon.
