Tag
Kinetic Theory
Entries tagged kinetic theory.
3 entries
Concept
Pressure from microscopic collisions
Pressure is not a mysterious substance pushing outward, it is the measured average of countless individual molecular collisions transferring momentum to a surface every instant.
8 min
ConceptTemperature as microscopic energy distribution
Temperature is not a substance or a feeling of hot and cold; it is a number that measures the average kinetic energy per particle in the random jostling motion of matter.
7 min
Mental modelThe ideal gas model
Treat gas molecules as tiny, free, colliding points with no attraction between them, and pressure, volume, temperature, and particle count lock together into one simple equation, PV = nRT, that predicts real gas behavior remarkably well until the gas is squeezed cold enough or dense enough to condense.
8 min