Internal Energy of The Ideal Gas
Thermodynamics often uses the concept of the ideal gas for teaching purposes, and as an approximation for working systems. The ideal gas is a gas of particles considered as point objects that interact only by elastic collisions and fill a volume such that their free mean path between collisions is much larger than their diameter. Such systems are approximated by the monoatomic gases, helium and the other noble gases. Here the kinetic energy consists only of the translational energy of the individual atoms. Monoatomic particles are not considered to rotate or vibrate, and are not electronically excited to higher energies except at very high temperatures.
Therefore practical internal energy changes in an ideal gas may be described solely by changes in its kinetic energy.
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