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257 Awarded animation!
 
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Summary
The kinetic molecular theory of Maxwell and Boltzmann proposes that the macroscopic properties of an ideal  gas  derive  from the fact that it is  composed of a large number of colliding point particles that  are  in rapid motion.  The particles do not interact with one another except in elastic collisions. The piston receives from each such collision a certain amount of momentum. The macroscopic effect of these collisions is pressure.
Click and drag the piston horizontally to modify the volume.

Learning objectives
  • To illustrate the microscopic behaviour of an ideal  gas.
  • To introduce the idea of pressure in kinetic molecular terms.
How to use the animation

Click and drag the piston horizontally to modify the volume

Keywords
ideal-gas, volume, piston, screw, jack, kinetic, theory, collision, atom, pressure,
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