Short Essays on Thermodynamics

Short Essays on Thermodynamics

1. The two ways of transferring heat are Conduction and Radiation:
Heat conduction, also called diffusion, is the direct microscopic exchange of kinetic energy of particles through the boundary between two systems. When an object is at a different temperature from another body or its surroundings, heat flows so that the body and the surroundings reach the same temperature at thermal equilibrium. Conduction happens in both fluids and solids.
Thermal radiation, the second mentioned, is energy emitted by matter as electromagnetic waves due to the pool of thermal energy that all matter possesses that has a temperature above absolute zero. Thermal radiation spreads without the presence of matter through the vacuum of space. Thermal radiation is a direct result of the random movements of atoms and molecules in matter. Since these atoms and molecules are composed of charged particles (protons and electrons), their movement results in the emission of electromagnetic radiation, which carries energy away from the surface.

2. The three factors that determine the pressure of a gas are: a. The amount of gas- when you pump air into a container, you increase the amount of gas inside the container, which increases the number of collisions between gas particles, which increases the pressure. The relationship is direct. If you double the amount of gas, the pressure will double. The fewer the gas particles, the lower the pressure – the more gas particles, the higher the pressure. b. Volume- If the volume of a container is reduced, the pressure will increase. If the volume of a container is increased, the pressure will decrease. The relationship is inverse- If the volume is doubles, the pressure will decrease by half. c. Temperature: If the temperature is increases, the particles will move faster, which causes more collisions between particles and increases the pressure as a result. Increasing the temperature causes the pressure to increase, while decreasing the temperature will cause the pressure to decrease. The relationship is direct- As the temperature is doubled, the pressure is doubled. As the pressure is decreased by half, the pressure will do the same.