Application of the equipartition theorem to the thermal excitation of quartz tuning forks
- 22 August 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 99 (8), 084102
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3627184
Abstract
The deflection signal of a thermally excited force sensor of an atomic force microscope can be analyzed to gain important information about the detector noise and about the validity of the equipartion theorem of thermodynamics. Here, we measured the temperature dependence of the thermal amplitude of a tuning fork and compared it to the expected values based on the equipartition theorem. In doing so, we prove the validity of these assumptions in the temperature range from 140 K to 300 K. Furthermore, the application of the equipartition theorem to quartztuning forks at liquid helium temperatures is discussed.Other Versions
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