Does compressing a gas mean the temperature has to change?

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SUMMARY

Compressing a gas in a well-insulated system typically results in a temperature increase due to the principles of thermodynamics. The discussion highlights the relationship between work done on the gas and changes in internal energy, as described by the first law of thermodynamics: ΔQ = ΔU + W. In adiabatic compression, where no heat is exchanged, the temperature rises in accordance with the equation PV^γ = constant, with γ being the heat capacity ratio. While isothermal compression can maintain constant temperature, the general rule is that temperature increases with compression.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of the first law of thermodynamics (ΔQ = ΔU + W)
  • Familiarity with adiabatic and isothermal processes
  • Knowledge of the ideal gas law (PV = nRT)
  • Concept of heat capacity ratio (γ) for gases
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the principles of adiabatic and isothermal processes in thermodynamics
  • Explore the derivation and implications of the equation PV^γ = constant
  • Learn about the heat capacity ratios for different gases and their effects on compression
  • Investigate real-world applications of gas compression in thermodynamic systems
USEFUL FOR

Students and professionals in thermodynamics, mechanical engineers, and anyone interested in the behavior of gases under compression.

zzinfinity
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Hi,
I'm taking a thermodynamics class and am curious about how changes in volume of a gas affect temperature.

I have the relations

Q-W=ΔU+ΔKE+ΔPE
and
Δu= ∫c(T)dT


If we take we take Q, ΔKE and ΔPE to be 0 this leaves us with.

-W= ∫c(T)dT

So does this mean any time you compress a gas (do work on it) there has to be a temperature change? At least with a well insulated system?
 
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Temperature is directly related to the average kinetic energy of a substance. This kinetic energy can harvest itself in translations, vibrations, and rotations. If you compress a bunch of particles you are most definitely increasing the number of collisions. If you imagine millions of collisions per second you will see a picture in your head of extremely fast vibrations. With that, you can see that the average speed of particles is increased because of how rapidly they are hitting each other, thus temperature increases.

Disclaimer: I may have misconceptions based on this, this is just my intuition.
 
PV = nrt so yes temperature usually rises as compression pressure increases.

There is a discussion I have seen in these forums and someone knew of an exception
which was explained, but as a general rule its true.
 
Naty1 said:
PV = nrt so yes temperature usually rises as compression pressure increases.

In this scenario volume is decreasing as well.
 
zzinfinity said:
Hi,
I'm taking a thermodynamics class and am curious about how changes in volume of a gas affect temperature.

I have the relations

Q-W=ΔU+ΔKE+ΔPE
and
Δu= ∫c(T)dT


If we take we take Q, ΔKE and ΔPE to be 0 this leaves us with.

-W= ∫c(T)dT

So does this mean any time you compress a gas (do work on it) there has to be a temperature change? At least with a well insulated system?
One funny thing about sudden compression is that the pressure does not double when you compress to half the volume, but more than double. As the temperature rise under sudden compression, the pressure will also rise in addidion to the compression rate found by the change in volume.

Vidar
 
Low-Q said:
One funny thing about sudden compression is that the pressure does not double when you compress to half the volume, but more than double. As the temperature rise under sudden compression, the pressure will also rise in addidion to the compression rate found by the change in volume.

Vidar

And if pressure rises due to the temperature will the temperature rise again due to the pressure?
 
zzinfinity said:
So does this mean any time you compress a gas (do work on it) there has to be a temperature change? At least with a well insulated system?

Depends on the path the gas follows in phase space. Adiabatic compression, where everything is well insulated and you don't add heat to the system, does result in an increase in temperature following PV^γ = constant together with the equation of state, where γ is the heat capacity ratio that depends on the gas and is 5/3 for an ideal gas. If you extract heat during compression, you have isothermal compression where T does not change, but in general and classically at least, T will rise.
 
zzinfinity said:
Hi,
I have the relations

Q-W=ΔU+ΔKE+ΔPE
The first law is:

\Delta Q = \Delta U + W

where W is the work done by the gas. The ΔKE and ΔPE are part of ΔU.

So if ΔQ = 0, then ΔU = - W. So if work is done ON the gas (as in a compression), ΔU will be positive. If U is proportional to T then ΔT will necessarily be positive. This would be the case for an ideal gas.

AM
 

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