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Compressibility
In thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, the compressibility (also known as the coefficient of
compressibility[1] or, if the temperature is held constant, the isothermal compressibility[2]) is a
measure of the instantaneous relative volume change of a fluid or solid as a response to a pressure (or
mean stress) change. In its simple form, the compressibility (denoted β in some fields) may be
expressed as

where V is volume and p is pressure. The choice to define compressibility as the negative of the
fraction makes compressibility positive in the (usual) case that an increase in pressure induces a
reduction in volume. The reciprocal of compressibility at fixed temperature is called the isothermal
bulk modulus.

Definition
The specification above is incomplete, because for any object or system the magnitude of the
compressibility depends strongly on whether the process is isentropic or isothermal. Accordingly,
isothermal compressibility is defined:

where the subscript T indicates that the partial differential is to be taken at constant temperature.

Isentropic compressibility is defined:

where S is entropy. For a solid, the distinction between the two is usually negligible.

Since the density ρ of a material is inversely proportional to its volume, it can be shown that in both
cases

Relation to speed of sound

The speed of sound is defined in classical mechanics as:

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It follows, by replacing partial derivatives, that the isentropic compressibility can be expressed as:

Relation to bulk modulus

The inverse of the compressibility is called the bulk modulus, often denoted K (sometimes B or ).).
The compressibility equation relates the isothermal compressibility (and indirectly the pressure) to
the structure of the liquid.

Thermodynamics
The isothermal compressibility is generally related to the isentropic (or adiabatic) compressibility by a
few relations:[3]

where γ is the heat capacity ratio, α is the volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion, ρ = N/V is the
particle density, and is the thermal pressure coefficient.

In an extensive thermodynamic system, the application of statistical mechanics shows that the
isothermal compressibility is also related to the relative size of fluctuations in particle density:[3]

where μ is the chemical potential.

The term "compressibility" is also used in thermodynamics to describe deviations of the

thermodynamic properties of a real gas from those expected from an ideal gas.

The compressibility factor is defined as

where p is the pressure of the gas, T is its temperature, and is its molar volume, all measured
independently of one another. In the case of an ideal gas, the compressibility factor Z is equal to unity,
and the familiar ideal gas law is recovered:
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Z can, in general, be either greater or less than unity for a real gas.
The deviation from ideal gas behavior tends to become particularly significant (or, equivalently, the
compressibility factor strays far from unity) near the critical point, or in the case of high pressure or
low temperature. In these cases, a generalized compressibility chart or an alternative equation of state
better suited to the problem must be utilized to produce accurate results.

Earth science
The Earth sciences use compressibility to quantify Vertical, drained compressibilities[4]
the ability of a soil or rock to reduce in volume
under applied pressure. This concept is important Material (m2/N or Pa−1)
for specific storage, when estimating groundwater Plastic clay 2 × 10−6 – 2.6 × 10−7
reserves in confined aquifers. Geologic materials
are made up of two portions: solids and voids (or Stiff clay 2.6 × 10−7 – 1.3 × 10−7
same as porosity). The void space can be full of
Medium-hard clay 1.3 × 10−7 – 6.9 × 10−8
liquid or gas. Geologic materials reduce in volume
only when the void spaces are reduced, which Loose sand 1 × 10−7 – 5.2 × 10−8
expel the liquid or gas from the voids. This can
Dense sand 2 × 10−8 – 1.3 × 10−8
happen over a period of time, resulting in
settlement. Dense, sandy gravel 1 × 10−8 – 5.2 × 10−9

It is an important concept in geotechnical Ethyl alcohol[5] 1.1 × 10−9

engineering in the design of certain structural Carbon disulfide[5] 9.3 × 10−10
foundations. For example, the construction of
high-rise structures over underlying layers of Rock, fissured 6.9 × 10−10 – 3.3 × 10−10
highly compressible bay mud poses a considerable Water at 25 °C (undrained)[5][6] 4.6 × 10–10
design constraint, and often leads to use of driven
piles or other innovative techniques. Rock, sound < 3.3 × 10−10

Glycerine[5] 2.1 × 10−10

Fluid dynamics Mercury[5] 3.7 × 10−11

The degree of compressibility of a fluid has strong

implications for its dynamics. Most notably, the propagation of sound is dependent on the
compressibility of the medium.

Aerodynamics
Compressibility is an important factor in aerodynamics. At low speeds, the compressibility of air is
not significant in relation to aircraft design, but as the airflow nears and exceeds the speed of sound, a
host of new aerodynamic effects become important in the design of aircraft. These effects, often
several of them at a time, made it very difficult for World War II era aircraft to reach speeds much
beyond 800 km/h (500 mph).

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Many effects are often mentioned in conjunction with the term "compressibility", but regularly have
little to do with the compressible nature of air. From a strictly aerodynamic point of view, the term
should refer only to those side-effects arising as a result of the changes in airflow from an
incompressible fluid (similar in effect to water) to a compressible fluid (acting as a gas) as the speed of
sound is approached. There are two effects in particular, wave drag and critical mach.

One complication occurs in hypersonic aerodynamics, where dissociation causes an increase in the
“notional” molar volume because a mole of oxygen, as O2, becomes 2 moles of monatomic oxygen and
N2 similarly dissociates to 2 N. Since this occurs dynamically as air flows over the aerospace object, it
is convenient to alter the compressibility factor Z, defined for an initial 30 gram moles of air, rather
than track the varying mean molecular weight, millisecond by millisecond. This pressure dependent
transition occurs for atmospheric oxygen in the 2,500–4,000 K temperature range, and in the 5,000–
10,000 K range for nitrogen.[7]

In transition regions, where this pressure dependent dissociation is incomplete, both beta (the
volume/pressure differential ratio) and the differential, constant pressure heat capacity greatly
increases. For moderate pressures, above 10,000 K the gas further dissociates into free electrons and
ions. Z for the resulting plasma can similarly be computed for a mole of initial air, producing values
between 2 and 4 for partially or singly ionized gas. Each dissociation absorbs a great deal of energy in
a reversible process and this greatly reduces the thermodynamic temperature of hypersonic gas
decelerated near the aerospace object. Ions or free radicals transported to the object surface by
diffusion may release this extra (nonthermal) energy if the surface catalyzes the slower recombination
process.

Negative compressibility
For ordinary materials, the bulk compressibility (sum of the linear compressibilities on the three
axes) is positive, that is, an increase in pressure squeezes the material to a smaller volume. This
condition is required for mechanical stability.[8] However, under very specific conditions, materials
can exhibit a compressibility that can be negative.[9]

See also
Mach number
Mach tuck
Poisson ratio
Prandtl–Glauert singularity, associated with supersonic flight
Shear strength

References
1. "Coefficient of compressibility - AMS Glossary" (http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Coefficient_of_co
mpressibility). Glossary.AMetSoc.org. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
2. "Isothermal compressibility of gases -" (http://petrowiki.org/Isothermal_compressibility_of_gases).
Petrowiki.org. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
3. Landau; Lifshitz (1980). Course of Theoretical Physics Vol 5: Statistical Physics. Pergamon.
pp. 54–55 and 342.

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4. Domenico, P. A.; Mifflin, M. D. (1965). "Water from low permeability sediments and land
subsidence". Water Resources Research. 1 (4): 563–576. Bibcode:1965WRR.....1..563D (https://
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1965WRR.....1..563D). doi:10.1029/WR001i004p00563 (https://doi.or
g/10.1029%2FWR001i004p00563). OSTI 5917760 (https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5917760).
5. Hugh D. Young; Roger A. Freedman. University Physics with Modern Physics (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=1YXznQEACAAJ). Addison-Wesley; 2012. ISBN 978-0-321-69686-1. p. 356.
6. Fine, Rana A.; Millero, F. J. (1973). "Compressibility of water as a function of temperature and
pressure". Journal of Chemical Physics. 59 (10): 5529–5536. Bibcode:1973JChPh..59.5529F (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1973JChPh..59.5529F). doi:10.1063/1.1679903 (https://doi.org/10.
1063%2F1.1679903).
7. Regan, Frank J. (1993). Dynamics of Atmospheric Re-entry. p. 313. ISBN 1-56347-048-9.
8. Munn, R. W. (1971). "Role of the elastic constants in negative thermal expansion of axial solids".
Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics. 5 (5): 535–542. Bibcode:1972JPhC....5..535M (https://u
i.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1972JPhC....5..535M). doi:10.1088/0022-3719/5/5/005 (https://doi.org/1
0.1088%2F0022-3719%2F5%2F5%2F005).
9. Lakes, Rod; Wojciechowski, K. W. (2008). "Negative compressibility, negative Poisson's ratio, and
stability" (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fpssb.200777708). Physica Status Solidi B. 245 (3): 545.
Bibcode:2008PSSBR.245..545L (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008PSSBR.245..545L).
doi:10.1002/pssb.200777708 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fpssb.200777708).
Gatt, Ruben; Grima, Joseph N. (2008). "Negative compressibility" (https://www.um.edu.mt/library/
oar//handle/123456789/18943). Physica Status Solidi RRL. 2 (5): 236.
Bibcode:2008PSSRR...2..236G (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008PSSRR...2..236G).
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ps://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:216142598).
Kornblatt, J. A. (1998). "Materials with Negative Compressibilities" (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fsci
ence.281.5374.143a). Science. 281 (5374): 143a–143. Bibcode:1998Sci...281..143K (https://ui.ad
sabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998Sci...281..143K). doi:10.1126/science.281.5374.143a (https://doi.org/1
0.1126%2Fscience.281.5374.143a).
Moore, B.; Jaglinski, T.; Stone, D. S.; Lakes, R. S. (2006). "Negative incremental bulk modulus in
foams". Philosophical Magazine Letters. 86 (10): 651. Bibcode:2006PMagL..86..651M (https://ui.a
dsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006PMagL..86..651M). doi:10.1080/09500830600957340 (https://doi.org/
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1596692).

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