Radial distribution function: Difference between revisions

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[http://www.magichat.co.uk/?r=wiredviper13 Statistics Calculator]In [[computational mechanics]] and [[statistical mechanics]], a '''radial distribution function''' (RDF), ''g''(''r''), describes how the density of surrounding matter varies as a function of the distance from a distinguished point.

Suppose, for example, that we choose a molecule at some point O in the volume. What is then the average density at some point P at a distance r away from O? If <math>\rho=N/V</math> is the average density, then the mean density at P ''given'' that there is a molecule at O would differ from &rho; by some factor g(r). One could say that the radial distribution function takes into account the correlations in the distribution of molecules arising from the forces they exert on each other: