Why does temperature fall in endothermic process in adiabatic system?

  • #1
zenterix
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TL;DR Summary
I read in a thermodynamics book that "an endothermic process is a process in which energy is acquired from its surroundings as heat" and "when an endothermic process occurs in an adiabatic system, the temperature falls".
In addition, "not all boundaries permit the transfer of energy even though there is a temperature difference between the system and its surroundings. Boundaries that do permit the transfer of energy as heat are called diathermal; those that do not are called adiabatic."

If we have an endothermic process in an adiabatic system, the process is acquiring energy from its surroundings; yet, the adiabatic system has a boundary that does not permit transfer of energy. So how can the temperature fall?

I asked chatgpt and part of the answer was the following:

In an endothermic process, the system absorbs heat energy from its surroundings. However, since the adiabatic container does not allow heat exchange with the surroundings, the heat that is absorbed by the system stays within the system. As a result, the internal energy of the system increases because it has gained energy through the endothermic process.

Now this also doesn't make any sense to me.

The system absorbs heat energy from surroundings, but the adiabatic container does not allow this heat exchange, so the heat that is absorbed (from where???) by the system stays within the system.
 
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  • #2
Congratulations, you have just learned ChatGPT is not reliable. Simply don't ask it such questions and don't use it as a part of the learning process.

I feel like the problem boils down to lousy use of the word "surroundings".

During the endothermic adiabatic process energy is consumed by the system, but the only source of the energy is the system itself, not its "surroundings" (from which it is isolated). So if the energy is used, it is the internal energy of the system itself, and the temperature of the system goes down, in a way it "eats" itself.

However, assuming the system consist of many molecules, if you look at a single molecule within the system, it absorbs the heat for its own surroundings - that is, from other molecules within the system.
 
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  • #3
…or the endothermic process in an adiabatic system converts kinetic energy of the particles (molecules?) into some sort of potential or chemical energy, thus leaving less kinetic energy (motion of particles in system). That is manifested as a lowering of temperature.
 
  • #4
Borek said:
Congratulations, you have just learned ChatGPT is not reliable. Simply don't ask it such questions and don't use it as a part of the learning process.

I feel like the problem boils down to lousy use of the word "surroundings".

During the endothermic adiabatic process energy is consumed by the system, but the only source of the energy is the system itself, not its "surroundings" (from which it is isolated). So if the energy is used, it is the internal energy of the system itself, and the temperature of the system goes down, in a way it "eats" itself.

However, assuming the system consist of many molecules, if you look at a single molecule within the system, it absorbs the heat for its own surroundings - that is, from other molecules within the system.
Thanks for you answer but your opinion on chatgpt is just that, your opinion. It is unreliable, but this is not by any stretch equivalent to not being useful in various scenarios including the learning process.
 
  • #5
Thread is paused for a bit while the OP is reminded of the PF rules on AI chatbot use in the technical forums...
 
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1. What is an endothermic process?

An endothermic process is a type of chemical or physical process in which the system absorbs energy from its surroundings in the form of heat. This means that the total internal energy of the system increases as it takes in heat, leading to changes in the system such as chemical reactions or state changes (e.g., melting or evaporation).

2. What is an adiabatic system?

An adiabatic system is a system where no heat is exchanged with its surroundings. In an adiabatic process, all changes in internal energy are due to work done by or on the system, and not because of heat transfer. This isolation from external thermal energy makes the behavior of the system solely dependent on internal factors.

3. Why does temperature fall in an endothermic process in an adiabatic system?

In an adiabatic system, if an endothermic process occurs, the system absorbs energy in the form of work instead of heat, since no heat exchange is allowed. Since the system uses its internal energy to do the work necessary for the endothermic process (like breaking chemical bonds), the internal energy decreases, leading to a decrease in temperature. Essentially, the energy absorbed is not compensated by heat from the surroundings, causing the temperature to drop.

4. Can temperature ever increase in an endothermic process within an adiabatic system?

Generally, in an endothermic process within an adiabatic system, the temperature will decrease because the system absorbs energy for the process at the expense of its own internal energy. However, if the process leads to a decrease in molecular interactions that are more restrictive to molecular motion (e.g., phase change from liquid to gas), the decrease in these interactions can lead to an increase in temperature despite the endothermic nature of the overall process.

5. How is the change in temperature in an adiabatic endothermic process quantitatively determined?

The change in temperature in an adiabatic endothermic process can be quantitatively determined using the first law of thermodynamics, which states that the change in internal energy of a system is equal to the heat added to the system minus the work done by the system. In an adiabatic process, the heat term is zero, so the change in internal energy is solely due to the work done. The specific heat capacity of the system and the amount of work done can then be used to calculate the exact change in temperature.

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