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Why do photons have zero chemical potential and what is its the physical significance?

From what I know the chemical potential could be interpreted as the energy per unit particle that is put into a (thermodynamic) system... but surely photons also carry energy?

SuperCiocia
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  • Related http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/60499/why-the-chemical-potential-of-massless-boson-is-zero http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/6687/chemical-potential-of-particles-with-zero-mass – vnb Apr 18 '14 at 10:48
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    From Wikipedia: A massive ideal gas with only one type of particle is uniquely described by three state functions such as the temperature, volume, and the number of particles. However, for a black body, the energy distribution is established by the interaction of the photons with matter, usually the walls of the container. In this interaction, the number of photons is not conserved. As a result, the chemical potential of the black body photon gas is zero. – jinawee Apr 18 '14 at 10:58
  • @jinawee dang I was just about to post that exact quote! – Carl Witthoft Apr 18 '14 at 11:20

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