Edit - Physics Stack Exchange

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

Rev

How does an adiabatic or isothermal system affect the work required to compress a gas?

Lets assume I have two piston cylinders both containing the same ideal gas which are then both compressed by the same volume. One is compressed adiabatically and the other isothermally.

My thought process:

As volume decreases, the adiabatic system will have an increase in pressure, temperature and therefore an increase in internal energy as well. As work is done on this system (in the form of compression), the internal energy will continue to increase.

The isothermal system however, will have an increase in pressure but not temperature meaning that internal energy is relatively unchanged.

Therefore, the adiabatic system will require more work because as it is compressed the internal energy increases as well effectively increasing the work needed to keep compressing. Whereas the work required for the isothermal system will be less because there is no energy increase within the system.

Question:

Is my reasoning valid and will the work required to compress the adiabatic system be more than the isothermal system?

Answer

Edit Summary

Cancel

Add a comment |

Correct minor typos or mistakes
Clarify meaning without changing it
Add related resources or links
Always respect the author’s intent
Don’t use edits to reply to the author

create code fences with backticks ` or tildes ~
```
like so
```
add language identifier to highlight code
```python
def function(foo):
print(foo)
```
put returns between paragraphs
for linebreak add 2 spaces at end
_italic_ or **bold**
quote by placing > at start of line
to make links (use https whenever possible)

<https://example.com>

[example](https://example.com)

<a href="https://example.com">example</a>
MathJax equations $\sin^2 \theta$

formatting help »
answering help »

MathJax help »