Macroscopic equations for the adiabatic piston

Details Macroscopic equations for the adiabatic piston Macroscopic equations for the adiabatic piston

2006-04-18

arxiv.org/abs/nlin/0604036v2

Phys. Rev. E 76, 051103 (2007)

Nonlinear Sciences

Chaotic Dynamics

13 pages, 7 figures (revTeX4) The paper has been completely rewritten with new derivation and results, supplementary informati

Scientific paper

10.1103/PhysRevE.76.051103

A simplified version of a classical problem in thermodynamics -- the adiabatic piston -- is discussed in the framework of kinetic theory. We consider the limit of gases whose relaxation time is extremely fast so that the gases contained on the left and right chambers of the piston are always in equilibrium (that is the molecules are uniformly distributed and their velocities obey the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution) after any collision with the piston. Then by using kinetic theory we derive the collision statistics from which we obtain a set of ordinary differential equations for the evolution of the macroscopic observables (namely the piston average velocity and position, the velocity variance and the temperatures of the two compartments). The dynamics of these equations is compared with simulations of an ideal gas and a microscopic model of gas settled to verify the assumptions used in the derivation. We show that the equations predict an evolution for the macroscopic variables which catches the basic features of the problem. The results here presented recover those derived, using a different approach, by Gruber, Pache and Lesne in J. Stat. Phys. 108, 669 (2002) and 112, 1177 (2003).

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Macroscopic equations for the adiabatic piston does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Macroscopic equations for the adiabatic piston, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Macroscopic equations for the adiabatic piston will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-195740