Pressure
What is pressure? We hear many different people talk about pressure dropping and falling, but what does this really mean? Well, pressure is basically how much force a gas pushes on other objects. For instance, a helium tank filled with helium pushes on the inside walls of the container. If there are many more molecules in one tank than in another, these particles of helium will hit the sides of the walls more, just because there are more of them in there. Also, if that same tank of helium is at a higher temperature, the particles will be moving faster, and will hit the sides of the container more frequently. The pressure of the helium in the tank is determined by how many time the helium particles smack into the sides of the walls. If there is a reaction occurring in the tank, the rate of the reaction is largely determined by how many times the particles collide together and recombine.
So, what is pressure again?
- Definition (technical):
- Pressure is how many particles of gas collide with the walls of a container.
- Greater number of particles gives a greater number of possible collisions.
- Smaller container makes the walls closer to the particles, and therefore the particles collide more frequently.
- Higher temperature means the molecules are moving faster, and thus they collide more frequently.
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