BOLTZMANN CONSTANT

(symbol k), a fundamental constant of physics occurring in nearly every statistical formulation of both classical and quantum physics. The constant is named after Ludwig Boltzmann, a 19th-century Austrian physicist, who substantially contributed to the foundation and development of statistical mechanics, a branch of theoretical physics. Having dimensions of energy per degree of temperature, the Boltzmann constant has a value of 1.380662 10-23 joule per kelvin (K), or 1.380662 10-16 erg per kelvin.