Suppose there are initially two indistinguishable particles in the left compartment of the container in Figure 19.9a. After the partition is removed, what is the probability at any given instant of finding one particle in each half of the container?

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Figure 19.9 (a) A container has gas in one half and vacuum in the other, divided by a partition. (b) When the partition is removed, the gas expands irreversibly into the vacuum. After the expansion is complete, there is an equal likelihood of finding a gas particle any- where in the container. (a) (b) gas vacuum removable partition Partition removed: gas expands irreversibly to fill vacuum.