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Q.What do you mean by an adiabatic process ? Obtain an expression for the work done by an ideal gas during an adiabatic process.

Bihar BsebBihar Board Intermediate 1st Year 2022Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
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In an adiabatic process no heat flows (Q = 0), PVᵞ = constant, and the work done by the gas is W = (P₁V₁ − P₂V₂)/(γ − 1).

Meaning. An adiabatic process is a thermodynamic change in which no heat enters or leaves the system (Q = 0). This happens when the system is perfectly insulated or the change is very rapid (like the compression/expansion of gas in an engine). For such a process an ideal gas obeys

PVγ=constant,γ=CpCv.PV^\gamma = \text{constant}, \quad \gamma = \dfrac{C_p}{C_v}.

Since Q = 0, the first law dQ = dU + dW gives dW = −dU, so the work is done at the expense of internal energy (the gas cools on adiabatic expansion and heats on compression).

Work done by an ideal gas in adiabatic change (from state 1 to state 2):

W=∫V1V2P dV.W = \int_{V_1}^{V_2} P\,dV.

Using PVγ=KPV^\gamma = K (constant), we have P=KV−γP = K V^{-\gamma}:

W=∫V1V2KV−γ dV=K[V−γ+1−γ+1]V1V2=K1−γ(V21−γ−V11−γ).W = \int_{V_1}^{V_2} K V^{-\gamma}\,dV = K\left[\dfrac{V^{-\gamma+1}}{-\gamma+1}\right]_{V_1}^{V_2} = \dfrac{K}{1-\gamma}\left(V_2^{1-\gamma} - V_1^{1-\gamma}\right).

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