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Concept
Isothermal process
Summary
In thermodynamics, an isothermal process is a type of thermodynamic process in which the temperature T of a system remains constant: ΔT = 0.This typically occurs when a system is in contact with an outside thermal reservoir, and a change in the system occurs slowly enough to allow the system to be continuously adjusted to the temperature of the reservoir through heat exchange (see quasi-equilibrium). In contrast, an adiabatic process is where a system exchanges no heat with its surroundings (Q = 0).
Simply, we can say that in an isothermal process
For ideal gases only, internal energy
while in adiabatic processes:
The adjective "isothermal" is derived from the Greek words "ἴσος" ("isos") meaning "equal" and "θέρμη" ("therme") meaning "heat".
Isothermal processes can occur in any kind of system that has some means of regulating the temperature, including highly structured machines, and even living cells. Some parts of the cycles of some heat engines are carried out isothermally (for example, in the Carnot cycle). In the thermodynamic analysis of chemical reactions, it is usual to first analyze what happens under isothermal conditions and then consider the effect of temperature. Phase changes, such as melting or evaporation, are also isothermal processes when, as is usually the case, they occur at constant pressure. Isothermal processes are often used as a starting point in analyzing more complex, non-isothermal processes.
Isothermal processes are of special interest for ideal gases. This is a consequence of Joule's second law which states that the internal energy of a fixed amount of an ideal gas depends only on its temperature. Thus, in an isothermal process the internal energy of an ideal gas is constant. This is a result of the fact that in an ideal gas there are no intermolecular forces. Note that this is true only for ideal gases; the internal energy depends on pressure as well as on temperature for liquids, solids, and real gases.
In the isothermal compression of a gas there is work done on the system to decrease the volume and increase the pressure.
Official source
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