What are the 5 principles of an ideal gas?

There are so many definitions surrounding the topic of ideal gases, from their definition to their types, how the Ideal Gas Law is derived, and so on. For starters, let’s begin with the definition of an ideal gas. An ideal gas is a hypothetical gas that adheres to all the norms and regulations of the Ideal Gas Law. The Ideal Gas Law depends on temperature, pressure, and volume. An ideal gas has had no volume or mass of its own. The intermolecular forces of attraction present in the ideal gas are so negligible that they have high elasticity between the particles. The particles are free to move about in open space without any boundaries. There is no effect on the gas as such.

If we were to discuss the Ideal Gas Law, we would talk about its sole dependency on absolute temperature, pressure, and volume. When a relationship is established between them, the Ideal Gas Law is derived. Any gas that does not follow the basic norms related to the Ideal Gas Law does not fall under ideal gases. For them, there’s a separate category of gases known as real gases. The principles of an ideal gas are quite stringent.

Let’s discuss the other aspects of ideal gases and real gases that will help you better understand the principles of an ideal gas. 

What is the Ideal Gas Law? 

The Ideal Gas Law determines whether a gas will fall under the category of an ideal gas or not. Any gas that obeys the Ideal Gas Law strictly falls under ideal gases. However, they are not treated as ideal gases if they do not. There are no examples of ideal gases except that they are hypothetical. There are no ideal gases that can exist freely in nature. However, some gases tend to behave like ideal gases regarding the designated temperature or pressure conditions.

In Ideal Gases, there is no designated mass, volume, or even velocity. The intermolecular forces of attraction are absent as well. Due to this, there is a presence of high elasticity between the particles of the gases. They can move around freely without any hassles. This is why there is the presence of elasticity in the ideal gases. 

Another noteworthy principle of an ideal gas is: that the overall change in its energy causes a change in the kinetic energy of the particles as well. Any change in the kinetic energy of the particles will cause a significant change in the temperature of the particles as well. They are dependent on each other. 

The main components of the Ideal Gas Law are: 

• P: Absolutely Pressure 

• T: Absolute Temperature

• V: Volume 

If we are to derive their relationship, we get the Ideal Gas Law: 

PV = NRT = NkT 

We see that, 

R = Universal Gas Constant = 8.3145 J/mol K

• n = number of moles 

• N = number of molecules

• NA = Avagadro’s Number = 6.0221 x 1023 /mol

•  k = R/NA

• k = Boltzmann Constant 1.38066 x 10-23 J/K = 8.617385 x 10-5 eV/K

What are the types of ideal gases? 

There are three types of ideal gases. They are mentioned below: 

• The classical ideal gas or the Maxwell-Boltzmann ideal gas 

• The ideal quantum gas or the Bose gas

• The ideal quantum Fermi gas

The classical ideal gas 

As the name suggests, the classical ideal gas adheres to all the traditional methods and has boundaries of its own. This is not present in the second type of ideal gas called Boltzmann gas. 

The ideal quantum gas 

The ideal quantum gas is also known as the Bose gas as it consists of Bosons. 

The ideal quantum gas is Fermi gas 

It is called Fermi gas as it contains Fermions.

Principles of Ideal Gas

There are five principles of an ideal gas. They are:

• There is no presence of any intermolecular forces of attraction between the particles of the gas. 

• The molecules of the gas are always in motion. The distance present between the two molecules is only slightly larger than the individual molecule size.

• The molecule has only kinetic energy and not potential energy. 

• The collisions that take place between the molecules are elastic. 

• There is no presence of any volume in the molecules. 

Conclusion 

In this article, we discussed numerous things surrounding the principles of an ideal gas. Ideal gas simply means a hypothetical gas that adheres to all the norms and regulations of the Ideal Gas Law. The Ideal Gas Law depends on many components, including temperature, pressure, and volume. An ideal gas has had no volume or mass of its own. The Ideal Gas Law considers the temperature, pressure, and volume. When a relationship is established between them, the Ideal Gas Law is derived. Any gas that does not follow the basic norms related to the Ideal Gas Law does not fall under ideal gases. For them, there’s a separate category of gases known as real gases. The principles of an ideal gas are quite stringent. There are three types of an ideal gas. They are The classical ideal gas or the Maxwell-Boltzmann ideal gas, the ideal quantum gas or the Bose gas, and the ideal quantum Fermi gas.