| statistical weight [stǝ`tis·tǝ·kǝl `wāt] STATISTICAL MECHANICS 1. The number of microscopic states that correspond to a given macroscopic state. 2. A multiplicative factor in the expression for the probability of finding a system in a given quantum state, usually equal to the number of degenerate substates contained in the state. STATISTICS A number assigned to each value or range of values of a given quantity, giving the number of times this value or range of values is found to be observed. |