3
votes
3answers
184 views

Understanding mathematically the free expansion process of an ideal gas

I'm trying to understand mathematically that for the free expansion of an ideal gas the internal energy $E$ just depends on temperature $T$ and not volume $V$. In the free expansion process the ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views

How to deduce E=(3/2)kT?

It says in my course notes that a particle has so-called "kinetic energy" $E=\frac{3}{2}kT=\frac{1}{2}mv^²$ Where does this formula come from? What is k?
2
votes
2answers
783 views

Calculating work done on an ideal gas

I am trying to calculate the work done on an ideal gas in a piston set up where temperature is kept constant. I am given the volume, pressure and temperature. I know from Boyle's law that volume is ...
0
votes
1answer
666 views

Work on ideal gas by piston

Imagine a thermally insulated cylinder containing a ideal gas closed at one end by a piston. If the piston is moved rapidly, so the gas expands from $V_i$ to $V_f$. The expanding gas will do work ...
3
votes
3answers
220 views

Simple question about a gas in a box with a moving wall

David Albert is a philosopher of Science at Columbia. His book "Time and Chance" includes this example (p 36). A gas is confined on one side of a box with a removable wall. "Draw the wall out, ...