Scattering rates versus moments: Alternative Grad equations.

Scattering rates ~moments of collision integral! are treated as independent variables, and as an alternative to moments of the distribution function, to describe the rarefied gas near local equilibrium. A version of the entropy maximum principle is used to derive the Grad-like description in terms of a finite number of scattering rates. The equations are compared to the Grad moment system in the heat nonconductive case. Estimations for hard spheres demonstrate, in particular, some 10% excess of the viscosity coefficient resulting from the scattering rate description, as compared to the Grad moment estimation. @S1063-651X~96!51310-3#