Mean free path in kinetic theory

In kinetic theory mean free path of a particle, such as a molecule, is the average
distance the particle travels between collisions with other moving particles. The
formula still holds for a particle with a high velocity relative to the
velocities of an ensemble of identical particles with random locations. If, on the other
hand, the velocities of the identical particles have a Maxwell distribution of velocities, the
following relationship applies:

and it may be shown that[2]:

where kB is the Boltzmann constant, T is temperature, p is pressure, and d is

the diameter of the gas particles.

Following table lists some typical values for different pressures.

Pressure in hPa Molecules /

Vacuum range Molecules / m3 mean free path
(mbar) cm3

Ambient
1013 2.7*1019 2.7*1025 68 nm
pressure

Low vacuum 300 - 1 1019 - 1016 1025 - 1022 0.1 - 100 μm

Medium
1 - 10-3 1016 - 1013 1022 - 1019 0.1 - 100 mm
vacuum

High vacuum 10-3 - 10-7 1013 - 109 1019 - 1015 10 cm - 1 km

Ultra high
10-7 - 10-12 109 - 104 1015 - 1010 1 km - 105 km
vacuum

Extremely high
<10-12 <104 <1010 >105 km
vacuum