General Applicability
The fluctuation-dissipation theorem is a general result of statistical thermodynamics that quantifies the relation between the fluctuations in a system at thermal equilibrium and the response of the system to applied perturbations.
The model thus allows, for example, the use of molecular models to predict material properties in the context of linear response theory. The theorem assumes that applied perturbations, e.g., mechanical forces or electric fields, are weak enough that rates of relaxation remain unchanged.
Read more about this topic: Fluctuation-dissipation Theorem
Famous quotes containing the word general:
“Private property is held sacred in all good governments, and particularly in our own. Yet shall the fear of invading it prevent a general from marching his army over a cornfield or burning a house which protects the enemy? A thousand other instances might be cited to show that laws must sometimes be silent when necessity speaks.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)