Relationship To Ideal Processes
For certain values of the polytropic index, the process will be synonymous with other common processes. Some examples of the effects of varying index values are given in the table.
| Polytropic index |
Relation | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| — | Although not applicable to everyday systems, negative exponents can be meaningful in some special cases not dominated by thermal interactions, such as in the processes of certain plasmas in astrophysics. | |
(constant) |
Equivalent to an isobaric process (constant pressure) | |
(constant) |
Equivalent to an isothermal process (constant temperature) | |
| — | A quasi-adiabatic process such as in an internal combustion engine during expansion, or in vapor compression refrigeration during compression | |
| — | is the adiabatic index, yielding an adiabatic process (no heat transferred) | |
| — | Equivalent to an isochoric process (constant volume) |
When the index n is between any two of the former values (0, 1, γ, or ∞), it means that the polytropic curve will be bounded by the curves of the two corresponding indices.
Note that, since .
Read more about this topic: Polytropic Process
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