In chemistry, physics, and mathematics, the Boltzmann distribution (also called the Gibbs Distribution) is a certain distribution function or probability measure for the distribution of the states of a system. The distribution was discovered in the context of classical statistical mechanics by J.W. Gibbs in 1901. It underpins the concept of the canonical ensemble, providing the underlying distribution. A special case of the Boltzmann distribution, used for describing the velocities of particles of a gas, is the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. In more general mathematical settings, the Boltzmann distribution is also known as the Gibbs measure. In statistics and machine learning it is called a log-linear model.
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“In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking.”
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