In statistical mechanics, the statistical weight is the relative probability (possibly unnormalized) of a particular feature of a state. If the energy associated with the feature is ΔE, the statistical weight is given by the Boltzmann factor e-ΔE/kT, where k is the Boltzmann constant and T is the temperature in kelvin.
The statistical weight is a convenient shorthand that is often used in transfer matrix solutions of problems in statistical mechanics.
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“It will be seen that we contemplate a time when man’s will shall be law to the physical world, and he shall no longer be deterred by such abstractions as time and space, height and depth, weight and hardness, but shall indeed be the lord of creation.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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