isoteriminen

Isoteriminen is a Finnish term that translates to "isothermic" in English. It refers to a process that occurs at a constant temperature. In thermodynamics, an isothermic process is one where the system's temperature remains unchanged throughout the process, even though heat may be exchanged with the surroundings. This is achieved by carefully controlling the conditions to ensure that any heat generated or absorbed is perfectly balanced by heat transfer.

Isothermic processes are often idealized in scientific and engineering contexts. For instance, in a gas expansion, if the gas is allowed to expand very slowly and is in good thermal contact with a heat reservoir, the expansion can be approximated as isothermic. This means that as the gas does work and its internal energy might tend to decrease, it simultaneously absorbs heat from the surroundings to maintain a constant temperature.

Conversely, if a gas is compressed in an isothermic manner, work is done on the gas, increasing its internal energy. To keep the temperature constant, this excess energy must be removed as heat and transferred to the surroundings. Understanding isothermic processes is crucial for analyzing the behavior of various systems, from engines to chemical reactions, where temperature control is a key factor. The concept is fundamental in the study of thermodynamics and its applications.