 |
| Applications of Probability |
Applications of Probability
A few of the many applications of probability are described below.
Science
In the mid-19th century, Ludwig Boltzmann made use of probability theory in his study of the thermodynamics of gases. Boltzmann assumed that a gas was composed of molecules that bounced around in a container like tiny billiard balls. By calculating the probability of collisions of molecules, he was able to predict the pressure of a gas in a container as a function of temperature. According to his model, the pressure in a gas was result of billions of molecules bouncing of the walls of a container. The agreement between experimental and theoretical probabilities lent great weight to Boltzmann’s theory.
Gambling
Pascal’s original inspiration had been a problem involving gambling. Probability theory is still a cornerstone of the gambling industry. In casinos, the rules of all games of chance are biased so that the house wins about 51% of the time. Sometimes a customer wins and sometimes a customer loses, but in the long run the house makes a 2% profit on all bets.
Lotteries are another popular game of chance, frequently used in charity fund raising. In one popular lottery, a player selects six numbers from the numbers 1-through-49. It turns out that there are about 14 million ways to do that, so the probability of selecting a single winning ticket is 1 out of 14 million. For comparison, the chance of being killed by lightning in any year is about 1 in 6 million.
A few of the many applications of probability are described below.
Science
In the mid-19th century, Ludwig Boltzmann made use of probability theory in his study of the thermodynamics of gases. Boltzmann assumed that a gas was composed of molecules that bounced around in a container like tiny billiard balls. By calculating the probability of collisions of molecules, he was able to predict the pressure of a gas in a container as a function of temperature. According to his model, the pressure in a gas was result of billions of molecules bouncing of the walls of a container. The agreement between experimental and theoretical probabilities lent great weight to Boltzmann’s theory.
Gambling
Pascal’s original inspiration had been a problem involving gambling. Probability theory is still a cornerstone of the gambling industry. In casinos, the rules of all games of chance are biased so that the house wins about 51% of the time. Sometimes a customer wins and sometimes a customer loses, but in the long run the house makes a 2% profit on all bets.
Lotteries are another popular game of chance, frequently used in charity fund raising. In one popular lottery, a player selects six numbers from the numbers 1-through-49. It turns out that there are about 14 million ways to do that, so the probability of selecting a single winning ticket is 1 out of 14 million. For comparison, the chance of being killed by lightning in any year is about 1 in 6 million.
