Gas Explosion Inside a Circle For this animation there are two radial regions, an inner region and an outer region. Initially these regions are separated by a membrane. After an equilibration time, the membrane bursts so that the discs in the inner and outer region can intermix. It is most interesting if the energy of the discs in the outer region is much less than that in the inner region and the mass of the discs in the outer region is much greater than that in the inner region. In that case, when the membrane bursts, the energies of the discs in the inner region drops very fast because these energies are being given up to the slower moving outer region discs. The initial reduction of the inner disc energy is similar to the energy of to the energy reduction that would be observed if the membrane moved outward rather than bursting. So the outer region discs form a kind of soft, outward moving membrane which is what might be expected. The inner region discs' energy per disc (proportional to absolute temperature) are plotted in black as a function of time. The outer region discs' energy per disc are plotted in green. The final values of the energy per disc is the same (as expected) for inner and outer stating positions. The learner may (within limits) use the Sliders to change the following variables: 1. Initial average speed of inner discs 2. Radius of discs 3. Total Number of Inner Discs 4. Total Number of Outer Discs 5. Ratio of Masses MOuter/MInner 6. Ratio of Energies EInner/EOuter 7. Expansion ratio 8. Gas equilibration time before starting piston
Click for more info rad vx nA rad Ratio mass ratio Energy ratio # Outer discs tEq