Question

A mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is enclosed in a rigid insulting cylinder. It is ignited by a spark. The temperature and the pressure both increase considerably.

Assume that the energy supplied by the spark is negligible, what conclusions may be drawn by application of the first law of thermodynamics?

Answer 1

The internal energy of a system is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy of all the constituents of the system. In the example stated above, conversion of potential energy into kinetic energy is responsible for a considerable rise in pressure and temperature of the mixture of hydrogen and oxygen ignited by the spark.