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Physics
Classical Physics
Mechanics
Confusion about the work done by an ideal gas
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[QUOTE="Chestermiller, post: 6047682, member: 345636"] When you release the piston, since the gas has inertia, a dilatation region begins to form in the gas immediately adjacent to the piston face. Within this region, assuming a massless piston, the pressure is virtually equal to the outside pressure (since the piston has no mass, it can accelerate at finite speed with even the slightest differential in pressure between inside and outside). As time progresses, the size of the dilatation region gets larger, and its leading edge travels backwards at the speed of sound within the gas (along the cylinder axis). So the phenomenon is similar to that of a sound wave. In addition to this, there are viscous fluid stresses that develop within the gas that also contribute to the force per unit area exerted by the gas on the inside face of the piston. But, again, for a massless piston, Newton's third law tells us that the force exerted by the gas on the inside face of the piston must equal the constant external force exerted on the outside face of the piston. [/QUOTE]
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Confusion about the work done by an ideal gas
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