- #1
asdf1
- 734
- 0
Why does free expansion represent the limit of irreversibility at which all of the "potential" work is degraded to heat.
Entropy measures irreversibility, or loss of ability to do work. The greater the net increase in entropy, the greater the irreversibility.asdf1 said:Why does free expansion represent the limit of irreversibility at which all of the "potential" work is degraded to heat.
Free expansion is a thermodynamic process in which a gas expands into a vacuum without any external work being done on the gas. This results in an increase in volume and decrease in pressure of the gas.
Studying free expansion can provide insights into the behavior of gases and help us understand the laws of thermodynamics. It also has practical applications in fields such as engineering and meteorology.
Free expansion is different from other types of expansions, such as isothermal or adiabatic expansions, because it occurs without any external work being done on the gas. This means that there is no change in the internal energy of the gas during free expansion.
Some real-life examples of free expansion include the expansion of air in a vacuum chamber and the release of compressed gas from a pressurized container. It can also occur naturally in the atmosphere, such as when a balloon is released into the air.
One limitation of free expansion is that it only occurs in ideal situations and cannot be easily replicated in real-world scenarios. Additionally, it does not account for the effects of friction and other external forces that may affect the expansion of gases.