The Gibbs Paradox and the Distinguishability of Identical Particles

TL;DR

This paper argues that classical particles are distinguishable and that the resulting non-extensive entropy is valid, challenging the common view that quantum mechanics is necessary to resolve the Gibbs paradox.

Contribution

It demonstrates that classical distinguishability and non-extensive entropy are consistent with thermodynamics, and that quantum mechanics is not essential for addressing the Gibbs paradox.

Findings

Classical particles can be distinguishable without contradiction.

Non-extensive entropy can be consistent with thermodynamics.

Quantum indistinguishability is not required to resolve the Gibbs paradox.

Abstract

Identical classical particles are distinguishable. This distinguishability affects the number of ways W a macrostate can be realized on the micro-level, and from the relation S = k ln W leads to a non-extensive expression for the entropy. This result is usually considered incorrect because of its inconsistency with thermodynamics. It is sometimes concluded from this inconsistency that identical particles are fundamentally indistinguishable after all; and even that quantum mechanics is indispensable for making sense of this. In contrast, we argue that the classical statistics of distinguishable particles and the resulting non-extensive entropy function are perfectly acceptable from both a theoretical and an experimental perspective. The inconsistency with thermodynamics can be removed by taking into account that the entropy concept in statistical mechanics is not completely identical to the thermodynamical one. We observe that even identical quantum particles are in some cases distinguishable, and conclude that quantum mechanics is irrelevant to the Gibbs paradox.