Internal pressure is a concept in thermodynamics that describes how the energy within a system changes as the volume changes, while keeping other variables constant. For gases, especially those not ideal, knowing how internal pressure works helps predict how they behave under different conditions, like temperature or volume changes.
In terms of math, internal pressure is expressed by the derivative \((\partial U/\partial V)_T\), which measures how much internal energy \(U\) shifts with volume \(V\) at a constant temperature \(T\). The Redlich-Kwong equation, which is useful for gases beyond ideal assumptions, describes pressure \((P)\) based on volume \((V_m)\), temperature \((T)\), and specific constants \(a\) and \(b\).
For a gas following the Redlich-Kwong equation, internal pressure is influenced by both natural interactions (related to \(a\)) and the finite size of gas particles (related to \(b\)). This leads to:
- The modified pressure equation: \(P=\frac{RT}{V_m-b}-\frac{a}{\sqrt{T}V_m(V_m+b)}\).
- Internal pressure expression as derived: \(\left(\frac{\partial U}{\partial V_m}\right)_T = \frac{3a}{2\sqrt{T}V_m(V_m+b)}\).
This shows how certain properties like the size of molecules and their interactions can affect internal energy with changes in system volume.