In physics, the thermal de Broglie wavelength ( λ λ t h , sometimes also denoted by Λ Λ ) is roughly the average de Broglie wavelength of particles in an ideal gas at the specified temperature. We can take the average interparticle spacing in the gas to be approximately (V / N) where V is the volume and N is the number of particles. When the thermal de Broglie wavelength is much smaller than the interparticle distance, the gas can be considered to be a classical or Maxwell–Boltzmann gas. On the other hand, when the thermal de Broglie wavelength is on the order of or larger than the interparticle distance, quantum effects will dominate and the gas must be treated as a Fermi gas or a Bose gas, depending on the nature of the gas particles. The critical temperature is the transition point between these two regimes, and at this critical temperature, the thermal wavelength will be approximately equal to the interparticle distance. That is, the quantum nature of the gas will be evident for V N λ λ t h 3 ≤ ≤ 1 , o r ( V N ) 1 / 3 ≤ ≤ λ λ t h