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# Boltzmann constant (, )

nosplit "Thermodynamics" words: 168
This is not a truly "fundamental" constant of nature like say the speed of light or the Planck constant.
Rather, it is just a definition of our Kelvin temperature scale, linking average microscopic energy to our macroscopic temperature scale.
The way to think about that link is, at 1 Kelvin, each particle has average energy: $$1/2kT (1)$$ per degree of freedom.
This is why the units of the Boltzmann constant are Joules per Kelvin.
For an ideal monatomic gas, say helium, there are 3 degrees of freedom. so each helium atom has average energy: $$3/2kB​T (2)$$
If we have 2 atoms at 1 K, they will have average energy , and so on.
Another conclusion is that this defines temperature as being proportional to the total energy. E.g. if we had 1 helium atom at 2 K then we would have about energy, 3 K and so on.
This energy is of course just an average: some particles have more, and others less, following the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution.