Reversible and Irreversible Isothermal Expansion of an Ideal Gas
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This Demonstration compares the thermodynamic processes of reversible and irreversible isothermal expansion of an ideal gas. The graph and the image of a piston at the top represent the slow expansion of a gas from an initial volume to a final volume (you can vary these volumes with the sliders). Reversible work is given by the integral , which equals the lightly shaded area below the top curve. By the usual thermodynamic convention, negative work means work done by the system on the surroundings.
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Contributed by: Blair Winograd (June 2015)
Open content licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
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Reference
[1] P. Atkins and L. Jones, Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight, New York: W. H. Freeman, 1999.
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