| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Fermi-Dirac statistics |
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| class of statistics that applies to particles called fermions. Fermions have half-integral values of the quantum mechanical property called spin and are “antisocial” in the sense that two fermions cannot exist in the same state. Protons, neutrons, electrons, and many other elementary particles are fermions. See Bose-Einstein statistics; elementary particles; statistical mechanics. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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