## Reversible Reactions

$w=-P\Delta V$
and
$w=-\int_{V_{1}}^{V_{2}}PdV=-nRTln\frac{V_{2}}{V_{1}}$

Rhea Shah 2F
Posts: 97
Joined: Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:17 am

### Reversible Reactions

Why is it that the greatest work that is done for a process is the work that takes place reversibly?

Ryan Lee 1E
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2019 12:16 am

### Re: Reversible Reactions

Work is F*d, and here, the F*d is equivalent to P*V. In an irreversible reaction, the pressure instantly drops to a lower value and so the lower value is multiplied by V. In a reversible reaction, the pressure slowly drops, which means that we have to sum all the infinitely small sections of P*V. This includes sections at the beginning where P is still at the high point. This means that over the course of the reaction, the average pressure is higher and so the work done would also be higher.

Joowon Seo 3A
Posts: 100
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:17 am
Been upvoted: 1 time

### Re: Reversible Reactions

Since it uses all of the heat going into the system and converts it to work. The heat is not converted to the temperature of a system.