scan0018.rtf

Energy Transmission Using a Pneumatic System Before dealing with energy transmission through a gas, it will help our understanding of pneumatics to first determine what a gas is and then concentrate on some pertinent gas characteristics. gases Just as any substance, a gas is made up of molecules. Unlike molecules of a solid or liquid, gas molecules are not readily attracted to one another. They tend to remain separated. Gas molecules must be housed in a container or they will disperse and lose their integrity. molecular energy Molecules which make up a gas do not float around in space like snowflakes. They are continuously speeding throughout their container, crashing into other molecules and the walls of their container. Their movement is more like a swarm of angry bees than a gently falling snow. gases take any shape or volume A large portion of the make up of a gas is space. If space were eliminated, gas molecules would be in continuous contact with one another and would therefore be a liquid or solid, but a gas no longer. With a large portion of space in its makeup and with molecules continuously speeding through that space, a gas can take the shape of any container and fill the volume of that container. Solids have definite volume and definite shape. Liquids have a definite volume, but conform to the shape of their container. Gases take the shape and volume of their container.