The mean free path is, as the name suggests, the average
distance a molecule can go before colliding with another molecule.
Logically, we can expect this to be mean speed of the molecules (c)
multiplied by the time between collisions (1/z where z is the collision
frequency)
l =
c/z
and if we substitute with the equation for z on the
bottom of the collision frequency page,
we have
l =
kT/ppd2Ö2
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