Chapter 1, Problem 1.37E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

Liquid nitrogen comes in large cylinders that required special tank carts and hold 120 L of liquid at 77 K. Given the density of liquid nitrogen of 0.840 g/cm³, using the van der Waals equation, the volume of the nitrogen gas after it evaporates at 77 K and atmospheric pressure is to be estimated.

Concept introduction:

The ideal gas law considered the molecules of a gas as point particles with perfectly elastic collisions among them in nature. This works importantly well for gases at dilution and at low pressure in many experimental calculations. But the gas molecules are not performing as point masses, and there are situations where the properties of the gas molecules have measurable effect by experiments. Thus, a modification of the ideal gas equation was coined by Johannes D. van der Waals in 1873 to consider size of molecules and the interaction forces among them. It is generally denoted as the van der Waals equation of state.