/*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} Problem 48 In a still room, cigar smoke som... [FREE SOLUTION] | 91影视

91影视

Log out

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 17: Problem 48

In a still room, cigar smoke sometimes rises only partway to the ceiling. Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Smoke may rise only partway to the ceiling due to reaching an equilibrium with the surrounding air density and temperature.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Smoke Behavior

When smoke is produced, it begins to rise due to convection. This is because the smoke particles are warmer and consequently less dense compared to the surrounding air, making them buoyant. Buoyant particles will naturally attempt to rise in a still room.
02

Interaction with Surrounding Air

As the smoke rises, it starts interacting with the surrounding air. If the air at a higher altitude in the room is cooler and denser than the smoke, the smoke's upward motion slows down since the temperature and density difference diminishes.
03

Equilibrium Point

If conditions in the room maintain constant air temperature and density that intersect with the smoke's reduced buoyancy, the smoke reaches an equilibrium point where it neither rises nor falls significantly. This often results in smoke dispersing horizontally rather than vertically.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with 91影视!

Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Convection
When you light a cigar in a still room, the smoke does not just hang in the air at the same height. Instead, it tends to move upward. This happens due to a process known as convection. Convection is the transfer of heat through fluids like air or water. In the case of smoke, the warmer particles, heated by the cigar, rise because they are less dense than the cooler surrounding air. This rising movement occurs because warmer smoke particles expand, spreading out in a volume of space.
  • Smoke particles become less dense due to heating.
  • The reduced density causes the particles to rise.
Convection is vital for many phenomena in our world, from weather patterns to ocean currents. Here in the room, it makes smoke rise initially towards the ceiling.
Buoyancy
The concept of buoyancy is crucial to understanding why smoke rises. Buoyancy refers to the force that causes less dense objects to move upwards in a denser fluid. For the cigar smoke, the less-dense smoke particles try to move through the denser air.
  • Buoyancy is a result of density differences between two mediums.
  • Less dense smoke particles are pushed upward by denser air beneath them.
The amount of buoyancy that the smoke has depends on the temperature difference between the smoke and the air. As the smoke cools while interacting with the air, it gradually loses buoyancy. This explains why the smoke may not always reach the ceiling in a room, as it becomes less buoyant with time.
Equilibrium Point
Eventually, the rising smoke reaches what is known as an equilibrium point as it interacts with the surrounding air. At this stage, the smoke neither continues to rise nor falls. In physics, an equilibrium point is where forces are balanced, causing an object to remain steady. For smoke, this happens when it loses enough buoyancy due to heat loss, making it no longer rise.
  • An equilibrium point is achieved when the buoyant force equals the weight of the smoke.
  • Temperature differences diminish as smoke and air temperatures stabilize.
As a result, the smoke disperses horizontally, creating that classic room-filling haze without moving towards the ceiling. Understanding the equilibrium point helps explain why the smoke behavior changes its vertical to horizontal movement as it reaches this state.

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Might it be possible to keep the density of air the same by simultaneously increasing its temperature while increasing its pressure? How so?

Why is whitewash sometimes applied to the glass of greenhouses in the summer?

Why is stratospheric ozone so important?

Once formed, why is a temperature inversion such a stable weather system?

As stated in the text, there are about 25 trillion \(\left(25,000,000,000,000=2.5 \times 10^{13}\right)\) chlorofluorocarbon molecules in every liter of air you breathe. Think critically about this statement. What information would you need to know if you wanted to calculate the percentage of CFCs in our air?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

The Earths Atmosphere

Read Explanation

Chemical Analysis

Read Explanation

Making Measurements

Read Explanation

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation

Ionic and Molecular Compounds

Read Explanation

Nuclear Chemistry

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.