Fermi-Dirac statistics | Quantum Mechanics, Particles, Statistics | Britannica (original) (raw)

Fermi-Dirac statistics, in quantum mechanics, one of two possible ways in which a system of indistinguishable particles can be distributed among a set of energy states: each of the available discrete states can be occupied by only one particle. This exclusiveness accounts for the electron structure of atoms, in which electrons remain in separate states rather than collapsing into a common state, and for some aspects of electrical conductivity. The theory of this statistical behaviour was developed (1926–27) by the physicists Enrico Fermi and P.A.M. Dirac, who recognized that a collection of identical and indistinguishable particles can be distributed in this way among a series of discrete (quantized) states.

In contrast to the Bose-Einstein statistics, the Fermi-Dirac statistics apply only to those types of particles that obey the restriction known as the Pauli exclusion principle. Such particles have half-integer values of spin and are named fermions, after the statistics that correctly describe their behaviour. Fermi-Dirac statistics apply, for example, to electrons, protons, and neutrons.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.