The kinetic theory

The kinetic theory describes a gas as a large number of submicroscopic particles (atoms or molecules), all of which are in constant, random motion. The rapidly moving particles constantly collide with each other and with the walls of the container.

Kinetic theory explains macroscopic properties of gases, such as pressure, temperature, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and volume, by considering their molecular composition and motion. The theory posits that gas pressure is due to the impacts, on the walls of a container, of molecules or atoms moving at different velocities.

Kinetic theory defines temperature in its own way, not identical with the thermodynamic definition.

Under a microscope, the molecules making up a liquid are too small to be visible, but the jittery motion of pollen grains or dust particles can be seen. Known as Brownian motion, it results directly from collisions between the grains or particles and liquid molecules. As analyzed by Albert Einstein in 1905, this experimental evidence for kinetic theory is generally seen as having confirmed the concrete material existence of atoms and molecules.