Specific heats for an incompressible substance

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion clarifies that specific heats at constant pressure and volume are identical for incompressible substances due to their inability to perform PV work. Unlike ideal gases, where heat energy is used for both increasing internal energy and doing work against external pressure, incompressible substances do not expand or compress significantly under pressure changes. Therefore, all heat energy contributes to temperature change without any energy loss to work, resulting in equal specific heats.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of thermodynamic principles
  • Knowledge of specific heat capacity concepts
  • Familiarity with the behavior of ideal gases
  • Basic principles of PV work in thermodynamics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the concept of specific heat capacity in different states of matter
  • Explore the thermodynamic properties of incompressible substances
  • Study the differences between ideal gases and real gases regarding specific heats
  • Learn about the implications of PV work in various thermodynamic processes
USEFUL FOR

Students and professionals in physics and engineering, particularly those studying thermodynamics and material properties, will benefit from this discussion.

KOUSIK
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
why specific heats at constant pressure and volume are the same for an incompressible substance?
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
KOUSIK said:
why specific heats at constant pressure and volume are the same for an incompressible substance?

The reason that they are very different fo things like ideal gases is that with a gas at constant volume, there is no PV work possible. All of the heat going into the gas goes to increasing the energy of the gas molecules. At constant pressure, as you heat the gas, the gas will expand against that pressure -- doing PV work. Some of the heat energy that you added to the gas went out of the gas into the surroundings as work. More heat needs to be supplied to get the same change in temperature.

For incompressible materials, is this possible? Can the substance do any PV work?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: KOUSIK
thank u
 

Similar threads

What is the most incompressible elastomer?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
I have a question about the air volume
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
2K
Why should an ideal fluid be incompressible?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Compressible flow or incompressible flow equation?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K
Automatic Window Opener - how does it work?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
5K
FAVRE-average: Compressible or just varying density
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Heat cross exchanger
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Estimating the force exerted by a water jet on a flat plate - Bernoulli vs Momentum Equation
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
What is the difference between nozzle (or a ventury) and flow control valve?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
How does specific volume play its role in the phase diagram?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K