141 The adiabatic state equations

Subject:
A reversible adiabatic process can be described by means of the following
equations, sometimes called adiabatic state equations:
p ·V γ = const
! T ·V γ –1 = const
1
γ –1
T ·p = const

Here, γ is the ratio of the specific heat capacities at constant pressure and
that at constant volume:
! γ = cp/cV .

Deficiencies:
In principle, there is nothing to object. However, what idea of these
processes is created in the mind of the students?
1. For an ideal gas with a constant amount of substance, i.e. for a typical
thermodynamic system, the Gibbs fundamental equation reads
! dE = TdS – pdV . ! (1)
It expresses, among other things, the fact that the system has two degrees
of freedom.
One is well-advised not to change the values of various variables at the
same time. Therefore, one likes to consider processes in which one of the
five variables in equation (1) is held constant. In this way the system is
reduced to a system with only one degree of freedom. The corresponding
processes are given proper names: isothermal, isobaric, isochoric,
isoenergetic and…? Adiabatic!
As is well-known, “adiabatic” means “impassible”. Thus, instead of referring
to the variable that is held constant, i. e. the entropy, instead of calling the
process isentropic, the name tells us what we have to do in order to keep
the entropy constant: the walls of the container of the gas have to be
impenetrable for heat, and thus for entropy. Don’t object, that isentropic
means something different from adiabatic. Of course, an adiabatic process
can be realized in which entropy is produced, and which is, as a
consequence, not isentropic; it is also possible to realize a process that is
isentropic although the walls of the container are not impenetrable for heat.
These remarks are correct, but the common use of the term is for
processes that are adiabatic and isentropic at the same time.
2. One can define and measure quite a lot of coefficients that characterize a
system. In the case of a system that corresponds to equation (1) there are
• the compressibility at constant temperature;
• the compressibility at constant entropy;
• the volumetric thermal expansion coefficient;
• the pressure coefficient;
• the specific heat capacity at constant volume;
• the specific heat capacity at constant pressure;
• and others that do not have proper names.
However, only three of these coefficients are independent; the remaining
coefficients can be calculated from them. For the purpose of teaching (at
school and university) we are not only confronted with the question of which
of these coefficients should be introduced but also how to introduce them.
When we ask for the meaning of the “adiabatic index” γ , the expected
answer is: the ratio of the specific heats at constant pressure and at
constant volume. It is not easy to get an idea of the meaning of cp and cV
separately. But what is the meaning of the ratio of these coefficients?
3. There are two extreme ways of disposing of the thermal variables: either
the temperature is held constant, by allowing for a perfect entropy
exchange with the ambient, or the entropy is held constant by preventing an
entropy exchange with the surroundings [1]. These two conditions are
complementary; they are equally important and should be treated on an
equal footing. We can say that processes in small systems tend to be
isothermal; in large systems they are isentropic. The smaller the system,
the “more isothermal” are the processes. And we also have: The slower the
process, the “more isothermal” it is, the faster the process, the “more
isentropic”. Thus we have the rule: small and slow → isothermal; large and
fast → isentropic. Or: „Small fishes are isothermal, big fishes are
isentropic.” Weather phenomena are large-scale phenomena. Therefore
they are essentially isentropic.
4. That adiabatic state equation which usually is considered in the first
place, see above, is the most uninteresting of the three, since the p-V
relationship is very similar in an isothermal and an isentropic process. More
interesting are the second and the third equation. Let us write them in a
more convenient way. By using
α= 1
γ –1

we get
V ·T α = const ! (2)
and
p ·T –(1+α ) = const ! (3)
Equation (2) tells us that and how the temperature of a gas decreases upon
expansion, and equation (3) tell us that the air at high altitudes, where the
pressure is low, is cold. Some values of α are listed in the table.

air 2,5

water vapor 3,3

carbon dioxide 3,4

helium 1,5

light 3,0

In our natural and technical environment the isentropic processes are more
important. They are those processes that we try to realize in thermal
engines, and they are the relevant processes in weather phenomena.
5. When defining the exponent of equation (2) by means of the heat
capacities, the behavior of a gas in an isentropic compression or expansion
appears unintuitive. However, it is not difficult to present such a process as
a very natural phenomenon without referring to the heat capacities: When a
gas is compressed, also “the entropy is compressed”, i.e. its density is
increased. Then it is normal to expect that the corresponding intensive
quantity, the temperature, also increases.

Origin:
The wide-spread aversion against entropy also manifests itself in the
treatment of isentropic processes.

Disposal:
Introduce the equations
! V ·T α = const
and
! p ·T –(1+α ) = const
Do not define the exponents via the specific heats. The equations tell us
how the temperature reacts upon a change of the volume and of the
pressure.