Virial theorem

The virial theorem is a feature of systems with central forces.

${\overline {\mathcal {V}}}=-{\frac {1}{2}}{\overline {\sum _{i}{\frac {dU}{dr}}\cdot r_{i}}}$

The overlines represent time averages. The right hand side is known as the virial of Clausius . (Note: Herbert Goldstein uses $T$ for the virial , however here we use $T$ for temperature, thus we use ${\mathcal {V}}$ as per Hansen and McDonald).

See also

• Virial pressure

References

Related reading

• J. C. Slater "The Virial and Molecular Structure", Journal of Chemical Physics 1 pp. 687-691 (1933)