Physics › Section J · Thermodynamics › Topic J.2
Simple thermodynamic processes
Every engine is built from a few simple steps: heating a gas at constant pressure or constant volume, letting it expand at constant temperature, or squeezing it so fast that no heat can escape. A pressure-volume diagram shows each step at a glance, including how much work it does.
In this topic
- A gas in a cylinder
- Work done by an expanding gas
- PV diagrams and area
- Isobaric: constant pressure
- Worked example: an isobaric expansion
- Isochoric: constant volume
- Isothermal: constant temperature
- Adiabatic: no heat flow
- Worked example: work around a cycle
- Reversible processes
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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