Concepts and Misconceptions In Physics - Can We Define The Temperature Of A Single Molecule?
The temperature is a macroscopic property,which is defined for a system as a whole,not at a point of the system. We define temperature of a place,of our body,not of a particular point of our body. Likewise,the temperature of a molecule can not be defined. According to kinetic theory of gases, temperature is the measure of the average translational kinetic energy due to the random motion of the molecules. Therefore the temperature of the gas is measured not of a molecule.