If the pistons don’t move, we can infer that the pressure in both of these cylindrical systems is equal. This is like a tug-of-war, but with pushing rather than pulling. If the pressure is higher on the right than on the left, the right piston pushes the rod toward the left cylinder and vice versa.
The pistons move this rod back and forth according to the pressure in their respective cylinders. This tube contains two pistons held together by a rigid rod. Both are fully sealed except for a horizontal tube joining them together like a walkway between two buildings. Picture two metal cylinders next to one another. Right, now that we’ve defined our terms, let’s unpack the first concept we’ll need to get to grips with to understand thermodynamics – mechanical equilibrium. A vacuum flask is a good approximation of such a system. That’s an “open system.” Pop a lid on the same flask and you’ve got a “closed system.” Then there are “isolated systems.” These aren’t affected by their surroundings at all. This depends on the nature of their boundaries.
Together, a system and its surroundings make up the universe. This could be a bath of cool water in a laboratory or the atmosphere around a system. A combustion engine and the human body are also systems.īeyond those boundaries, we find the system’s surroundings. What we mean by this is: anything that has boundaries. Thermodynamics concerns itself with systems.
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