Root mean square speed is a measure of the velocity of particles in a gas. It says that $v\_\{rms\}\; =\; \backslash sqrt$ where v_rms is the root mean square speed and M_m is the molar mass of the molecule, R is the Molar gas constant T is the temperature. This works well for ideal gases like Helium but not for molecular gases like Oxygen. This is because some of their internal energy is in the spin of the molecule.

See also

• Boltzmann Constant

Gases