Isothermal Expansions

[Ashley Bouma 1F]

Are isothermal expansions reversible or irreversible or can they be both, and why?

[Philipp_V_Dis1K]

They can be both, reversible means that the external pressure is equal to the pressure of the gas and slowly increases/decreases with the gas pressure according to if it is expanding or being compressed, respectively. A irreversible reaction is one where the external pressure is constant, and one doesn't need to use the integral value for pressure

[Noah Fox 1E]

isothermal refers to the fact that the system will have the same amount of heat no matter what process occurs. This may mean work takes the form of heat. reversible and irreversible are terms relating to the way pressure is exerted on a system

[Searra Harding 4I]

It can be both but I've noticed that more often in our practice problems we see isothermal reversible.