Home » Mayer’s Relation (thermodynamics)

Mayer’s Relation (thermodynamics)

1842
  • Julius Robert von Mayer
19th century laboratory with thermodynamic instruments and Mayer's relation equations.

Mayer’s relation connects the specific heats of a perfect gas to the specific gas constant (\(R_s\)). The relation is \(c_p – c_v = R_s\). For molar specific heats (\(C_p\) and \(C_v\)), the relation is \(C_p – C_v = R\), where \(R\) is the universal gas constant. This shows that \(c_p\) is always greater than \(c_v\).

Mayer’s relation is a direct consequence of the first law of thermodynamics applied to a perfect gas. It quantifies the difference between the specific heat at constant pressure (\(c_p\)) and the specific heat at constant volume (\(c_v\)). When a gas is heated at constant volume, all the added heat goes into increasing its internal energy. However, when heated at constant pressure, the gas must expand to keep the pressure constant. This expansion requires work to be done on the surroundings. Therefore, additional heat energy must be supplied to perform this expansion work, in addition to the heat required to raise the internal energy.

The difference, \(c_p – c_v\), is precisely the amount of work done by one unit mass of the gas when its temperature is raised by one degree at constant pressure. For a perfect gas, this work is equal to the specific gas constant, \(R_s\). The relation is derived from the definitions of enthalpy (\(h = u + Pv\)) and the perfect gas law (\(Pv = R_s T\)). Differentiating with respect to temperature gives \(dh/dT = du/dT + R_s\), which directly translates to \(c_p = c_v + R_s\). This simple yet elegant relationship is fundamental in thermodynamics.

UNESCO Nomenclature: 2212
– Thermodynamics

Type

Physical Law

Disruption

Substantial

Usage

Widespread Use

Precursors

  • first law of thermodynamics
  • concept of specific heat (joseph black)
  • ideal gas law (clapeyron)
  • definition of enthalpy
  • work of sadi carnot on heat engines

Applications

  • calculating unknown specific heats from known values
  • determining the heat capacity ratio (gamma) for gas dynamic calculations
  • thermodynamic property tables generation
  • educational tool for demonstrating the first law of thermodynamics
  • fundamental equation in the analysis of gas power cycles

Patents:

NA

Potential Innovations Ideas

Professionals (100% free) Membership Required

You must be a Professionals (100% free) member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here
Related to: Mayer’s relation, specific heat, heat capacity, gas constant, thermodynamics, first law of thermodynamics, enthalpy, internal energy, perfect gas, Cp-Cv.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AVAILABLE FOR NEW CHALLENGES
Mechanical Engineer, Project, Process Engineering or R&D Manager
Effective product development

Available for a new challenge on short notice.
Contact me on LinkedIn
Plastic metal electronics integration, Design-to-cost, GMP, Ergonomics, Medium to high-volume devices & consumables, Lean Manufacturing, Regulated industries, CE & FDA, CAD, Solidworks, Lean Sigma Black Belt, medical ISO 13485

We are looking for a new sponsor

 

Your company or institution is into technique, science or research ?
> send us a message <

Receive all new articles
Free, no spam, email not distributed nor resold

or you can get your full membership -for free- to access all restricted content >here<

Historical Context

(if date is unknown or not relevant, e.g. "fluid mechanics", a rounded estimation of its notable emergence is provided)

Related Invention, Innovation & Technical Principles

Scroll to Top

You May Also Like