Deriving a conservation law using the divergence theorem

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around deriving a conservation law for a newly defined fluid property called "radost," which is expressed as a quantity per unit mass. The context involves applying the divergence theorem in fluid dynamics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between radost and fluid density, questioning how to convert radost from a unit mass basis to a unit volume basis. There is mention of previous examples involving mass conservation, leading to confusion about the current problem's setup.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights on the necessary conversion of radost to a per unit volume measure, while others express uncertainty about how to proceed with the derivation. The discussion is ongoing, with various interpretations being explored.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted need to convert radost from a per unit mass to a per unit volume format, which is essential for applying the divergence theorem correctly. Participants are also reflecting on previous class examples that may not directly apply to this new context.

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Problem:

Material scientists have discovered a new fluid property called "radost" that is carried along with a fluid as it moves from one place to the next (just like a fluid's mass or momentum). Let ##r(x,y,z,t)## be the amount of radost/unit mass in a fluid. Let ##\rho(x,y,z,t)## be the mass density of the fluid. Let ##\vec{v}(x,y,z,t)## be the velocity vector of the fluid. Use the divergence theorem to derive a conservation law for radost.

Attempt at a Solution:

We did an example like this in class, but for conserving mass, so it was a little different. What we ended up with was the following expression \frac{\partial \rho}{\partial t}+\nabla \cdot (\rho \vec{v})=0

We started by writing, dM=\rho dV Thus, M=\int_V \rho dV Then we applied the divergence theorem and that was basically it.

I'm just kind of confused how to start this one.
 
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The density of a fluid is the amount of mass of fluid per unit volume. Here we have some radost, R, and the interesting conservation law is going to be saying something about the amount of radost per unit volume. If the function r was radost per unit volume you would literally replace the density with r in the calculations you show in your post and be done - unfortunately it's given in radost per unit mass of fluid, so you need to convert that to radost per unit volume (which can be done with the information they give you)
 
Office_Shredder said:
The density of a fluid is the amount of mass of fluid per unit volume. Here we have some radost, R, and the interesting conservation law is going to be saying something about the amount of radost per unit volume. If the function r was radost per unit volume you would literally replace the density with r in the calculations you show in your post and be done - unfortunately it's given in radost per unit mass of fluid, so you need to convert that to radost per unit volume (which can be done with the information they give you)

Would it be ##dr=(r\rho)dV##?
 
Like OF said, needs to be radost per unit volume.
 
I'm sorry I'm not really sure how to do that.
 

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