
The only form of internal energy for an ideal gas is the translational kinetic energy of the particles.
The two main forms of energy that are involved in chemical transformations are the electrostatic potential energy among the particles and kinetic energy. In fact, for an ideal gas, translational kinetic energy of the particles is the only form of internal energy. Translational kinetic energy is kinetic energy of a particle whose center of mass is moving through space. In a real substance kinetic energy can also exist as rotational kinetic energy and vibrational kinetic energy in addition to translational kinetic energy.
Furthermore, electrostatic force interactions enable real substances to store energy in the form of electrostatic potential energy. When opposite charges move together in a chemical transformation or like charges move apart, electrostatic potential energy decreases.
![]() ![]() WikiPremed is a trademark of Wisebridge Learning Systems LLC. The work of WikiPremed is published under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike License. There are elements of work here, such as a subset of the images in the archive from WikiPedia, that originated as GNU General Public License works, so take care to follow the unique stipulations of that license in printed reproductions. |