Temperature & Energy of Particles
- Molecules in a gas move around in constant random motion at high speeds
- Random motion means that molecules
- Travel in no specific direction
- Undergo sudden changes in direction if they collide with either the walls of the container, or with other molecules
Random Motion of Gas Molecules
Gas molecules in a container move around randomly at high speeds
- The motion of molecules in a gas depends on the temperature of the gas
- More specifically, the temperature of a gas is related to the average kinetic energy of the molecules
- The hotter the gas, the higher the average kinetic energy
- The cooler the gas, the lower the average kinetic energy
- Since the kinetic energy is related to speed, the speed of the molecules also changes with temperature (as long as the volume of the container is constant)
- The hotter the gas, the faster the gas molecules move
- The cooler the gas, the slower the gas molecules move
Absolute Zero
- In 1848, the physicist Lord Kelvin recognised that there must be a temperature at which the particles in a gas must no longer be moving, or exerting pressure on their surroundings
- This temperature is called absolute zero and is equal to −273 °C
- Absolute zero is defined as:
The temperature at which the molecules in a substance have zero kinetic energy
- This means for a system at absolute zero, it is not possible to remove any more energy from it
- Even in space, the temperature is roughly 2.7°C above absolute zero
Where does absolute zero come from?
At absolute zero (−273°C) particles will have no net movement. It is therefore not possible to have a lower temperature than this