Skip to main content

What is the relationship between temperature and pressure?

Temperature and pressure of a gas are directly proportional to each other. This can be also be written as:


`P alpha T`


This also means that


`P/T = constant`


or,


`P_1/T_1 = P_2/T_2`


where P1 and P2 are pressures at temperatures T1 and T2, respectively.


This is true if the volume is held constant.


One way to think about the pressure-temperature relationship is to consider what happens when the temperature changes. If we increase the temperature of a gas, its molecules will have more kinetic energy and they will have more collisions with each other and the container they are held in (as long as the container volume is fixed). This will cause an increase in the pressure in the container. On the other hand, if we decrease the gas temperature, the molecules will have lesser kinetic energy and this will result in a reduced number of collisions with the container and hence lower pressure.


The above equation is also known as Gay-Lussac's Law and can be derived from the ideal gas law.


Hope this helps. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more