ISOTHERMAL

CHANGE
BY SYAHMI
INTRODUCTION

 Changes to a gas can be made under various conditions.

 In the earlier section we saw changes to a gas under constant
volume and constant pressure.
 In this section we shall consider two important conditions for
changes in a gas, isothermal and adiabatic.
ISOTHERMAL CHANGE

 If a gas undergoes changes such that the internal energy is

constant, dU = 0, then the temperature of the gas will also be
constant.
 Such changes are called ISOTHERMAL CHANGES.
 Here, iso means constant and thermal mean temperature
 When the temperature of a gas is kept constant, the pressure and
volume can change.
 This was discussed under Boyle’s law, where it was seen that pressure
is inversely proportional to volume.
 If a gas is compressed isothermally work is done on the gas.
 Since the temperature is constant, there is no increase in the internl energy.
 Hence according to the first law of thermodynamics, the work done on the gas
will be lost to the surroundings as heat.
dU = dQ – dW
dU= 0
hence, dW= dQ
 This means that in an isothermal compression the gas emits an amount of heat
equal to the amount work done on the gas.
 Relationship Between Isothermal
Compression, Heat And Work Done
Isothermal Expansion

 On the other hand, in an isothermal expansion, the gas does work

on the surroundings, and hence the internal energy will decrease.
 To maintain the temperature constant heat must be absorbed by
gas from the surroundings.
 The amount of the heat absorbed will be equal to the amount of
work done by the gas.
Isothermal Expansion
 During an isothermal change heat is exchanged between the gas
and and the surroundings.
 Therefore, the walls, of the container holding the gas must be made
of a good thermal conductor.
 In addition, an isothermal, change must be carried out slowly so
there is enough time for the heat to be transferred through the walls.
 The graph p versus V shown below, is for isothermal changes, which are curves,
and these are further away from the origin for higher temperature.

 Each of these curves is known as an isotherm.

 To calculate the work done during an isothermal chang, an integration of pdV is
carried out. Since p=k/V
work done = W= kIn (V2/V1)
 Refer graph below.
Reversible Changes

 When we integrate pdV in the expression p=k/V, we assume that this

is true for the gas at every instant during the change.
 When a gas abbeys the gas law at every instant during a change,
the gas is said to be in equilibrium throughtout, and such a change
is known as a reversible change.
 On the other hand, in an irreversible change, only the intial and final
states of the gas ar in accordance with the gas law while during the
change the gas law is not obeyed.
 This can be explained by considering the following example.
 A gas in a cylinder with a frictionless piston is compressed at a high rate.
 The quick motion of the piston result in turbulence in the gas.
 This mean that there is some bulk motion of molecules inside the gas.
 Such bulk motion does not contribute to the pressure of the gas.
 This represents a situation where the volume has decreased but the pressure has
not changed in accordance with the gas law.
 After compression is completed and, if the gas is left for a while, the bulk motion
slowly changes to random motion.
 When this happens, the temperature and pressure will change to be in
accordance with the gas law.
 Thus the initial and final condition obey the gas law but not during the
compression.
 Reversible and inreversible processes can be shown in the graphical form at the
next slide
 It is clear from the graph that the area under the graph is not necessarily equal
to kln(V1/V2) for an irreversible change.
 In practice, to carry out a reversible canhge, the change must be done very
slowly in order to avoid any bulk motion or turbulence in the gas.
 This ensures that the gas remains in equilibrium throughtout.