What's the difference between isothermal and adiabatic processes?

[AxiomOfChoice]

What's the difference?

 

[Borek]

What are definitions?

 

[AxiomOfChoice]

Well, from what I can tell, saying a transformation of a system is isothermal indicates no net change in the internal energy of the system, implying [itex]\Delta U = 0[/itex], implying [itex]W = -\Delta Q[/itex]. Adiabatic changes only entail no heat being added or subtracted to or from the system. So there isn't necessarily a zero change in U, since the system can do work, or have work done on it.

Is everything I've said right?

 

[Dickfore]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/isothermal"

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adiabatic?show=0&t=1283871003"

Also:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/firlaw.html"

See if you can check whether what you said is correct.

 

[sardar]

An isothermal process is one in which the temperature remains constant throughout the process. This means that the heat energy added to or removed from the system is equal to the work done by or on the system. In other words, the internal energy of the system remains constant.

On the other hand, an adiabatic process is one in which there is no heat exchange between the system and its surroundings. This means that the internal energy of the system may change due to work done on or by the system, but there is no change in temperature. Adiabatic processes are often characterized by rapid changes in pressure or volume.

In summary, the main difference between isothermal and adiabatic processes is that in an isothermal process, the temperature remains constant, while in an adiabatic process, there is no heat exchange and the temperature may change. These processes have different applications and implications in various fields such as thermodynamics, meteorology, and engineering.