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The Principles of Thermodynamics
book

The Principles of Thermodynamics

by N.D. Hari Dass
October 2013
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
352 pages
13h 56m
English
CRC Press
Content preview from The Principles of Thermodynamics
48 The Principles of Thermodynamics
Hence for an adiabatic atmosphere, temperature decreases linearly with height.
Using g= 9.8 m/s
2
along with the values of M and R given above, the rate of
decrease is 9.8 K/km. Actual rate is smaller than this.
If, on the other hand, we treat the atmosphere isothermally, we have P =
(RT/M)
ρ
and the hydrostatic equilibrium condition becomes
dP
dz
=
gM
RT
PP(z)=P(z =0)e
gM
RT
z
(2.34)
In other words, the pressure (and hence the density) of an isothermal atmo-
sphere falls off exponentially with height. The scale of fall-off is determined by
the length scale L =
RT
gM
,whichcanbecalledtheheight of the atmosphere. Its
numerical value ...
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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781466512085