3-1 Adiabatic Compression
Solution Physics 213 Problem 1 Week 3 Adiabatic Compression a) Last week, we considered the problem of isothermal compression: 1.5 moles of an ideal diatomic gas at temperature 35oC were compressed isothermally from a volume of 0.015 m3 to a volume of 0.0015 m3. The pV-diagram for the isothermal process is shown below. Now we consider an adiabatic process, with the same starting conditions and the same final volume. Is the final temperature higher, lower, or the same as the in isothermal case? Sketch the adiabatic processes on the p-V diagram below and compute the final temperature. (Ignore vibrations of the molecules.) α α For an adiabatic process ViTi = VfTf , where α = 5/2 for the diatomic gas. In this case Ti = 273 o 1/α 2/5 K + 35 C = 308 K. We find Tf = Ti (Vi/Vf) = (308 K) (10) = 774 K. b) According to your diagram, is the final pressure greater, lesser, or the same as in the isothermal case? Explain why (i.e., what is the energy flow in each case?). Calculate the final pressure. We argued above that the final temperature is greater for the adiabatic process. Recall that p = nRT/ V for an ideal gas. We are given that the final volume is the same for the two processes. Since the final temperature is greater for the adiabatic process, the final pressure is also greater. We can do the problem numerically if we assume an idea gas with constant α. γ In an adiabatic processes, pV = constant, where γ = (α + 1) / α.
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