Converting Gas Temperature to Particle Velocity
[caption id="attachment_18761" align="alignright" width="440"] Atoms or Molecules of Gas[/caption] Unlike liquids or solids, whose atoms or molecules have greater correlation with each other, gas atoms and molecules move somewhat independently of each other. This is to be expected. A gas occupies a much greater volume than a corresponding liquid. This independent behavior allows us to calculate the root-mean-square velocity of gas particles directly from temperature. Tweaking the Ideal Gas Law We derive this equation from another well-known equation, the Ideal Gas Law equation. Algebraically, that equation is written: PV = nRT where P is pressure, V is volume (not velocity), n is the number of moles of gas, R is the ideal gas constant and T is the temperature. By combining the above equation with derivatives of Boltzmann's equation, we…