Ensemble average

Ensemble average is a statistical concept used to predict the typical behavior of a system by considering all possible states it can be in, weighted by their likelihood. Imagine taking many snapshots of a system in different conditions and calculating an average result across these snapshots. This approach provides a way to understand the expected behavior of complex systems—such as molecules in a gas—by considering all potential configurations, rather than relying on a single state. It's fundamental in fields like thermodynamics and statistical mechanics for making accurate predictions about systems with inherent randomness.