- #1
Archosaur
- 331
- 1
Did that get your attention?
Ok, so I'm mosty kidding, but I have a conundrum for you that exposes one of the weaknesses of the gas laws. Ready?
In my astronomy class last quarter, we had to do a brief overview of physics, because physics isn't a pre-req, and some people had never taken physics before. At one point, we were given an assignment that involved playing around with a gas law applet online. This "simulator" had a very simple setup. There was a chamber that you could fill with simulated particles of gas, and a readout that displayed pressure and temperature. The chamber also had a plunger that you could push in or out by clicking and dragging, and a heat source that you could turn on or off.
When the class met and went over the results, the answers were all in accordance with pv=nrt... except for one. One of the questions asked about the effect that moving the plunger had on the temperature. All of the students reported that moving the plunger in heated up the gas, however, many of the students reported that moving the plunger back out did not cool the gas at all! So, how is this possible? How could moving a plunger out sometimes not cool a gas, while moving it in always heats it?
I got the answer on the drive home.
Ok, so I'm mosty kidding, but I have a conundrum for you that exposes one of the weaknesses of the gas laws. Ready?
In my astronomy class last quarter, we had to do a brief overview of physics, because physics isn't a pre-req, and some people had never taken physics before. At one point, we were given an assignment that involved playing around with a gas law applet online. This "simulator" had a very simple setup. There was a chamber that you could fill with simulated particles of gas, and a readout that displayed pressure and temperature. The chamber also had a plunger that you could push in or out by clicking and dragging, and a heat source that you could turn on or off.
When the class met and went over the results, the answers were all in accordance with pv=nrt... except for one. One of the questions asked about the effect that moving the plunger had on the temperature. All of the students reported that moving the plunger in heated up the gas, however, many of the students reported that moving the plunger back out did not cool the gas at all! So, how is this possible? How could moving a plunger out sometimes not cool a gas, while moving it in always heats it?
I got the answer on the drive home.