Isochoric cooling of air in the University Physics laboratory

Abstract

In this paper an alternative way of conducting the physics laboratory exercise for determining the adiabatic index of air using the Clement -- Desormes method is proposed. The process of isochoric cooling of air has been studied in terms of the dependence of pressure on time, and hence temperature on time, since it is proportional to pressure at a constant volume and mass of air. A theoretical model of the considered process was also made. The experimental results were processed statistically. The coefficient of determination $R^2$ and the F-test statistic were calculated and their values indicate a very good agreement between theory and experiment. The analysis of the residuals, however, implies that the model could be further improved through the inclusion of higher order terms.