Need help with a physics problem. massive karma for good ideas, or ideally the solution!

chicken

chicken

Active member
So here is the question and all I have done so far to figure it out

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the s subscript means at the critical point. I know that at the c.p. those two partial derivatives must be zero. so now how the heck do I solve for a and b to produce those answers?

 
and yes, NS was my last attempt. Tried google, yahoo answers, cramster, my friends. need this tonight! everywhere I have searched gets to the point where I am, and then "magically" arrives at these numbers, so it must be trivial. I just can't see how.
 
English please? But in all seriousness I fucking hate physics, have to take a full year of it next year and i'm not looking forward to it
 
I know there are physics students on NS because I have seen you in other homework help threads.

I wouldn't consider this cheating as I will obviously not submit it unless I fully understand it! I just really need to know the answer.

also I gave a bit of karma to everyone who replied just for bumping.
 
if the physics is throwing you off, just essentially I have the first three equations to work with, with the second and third equal to zero.

It's the math I don't get
 
Two equations - Two unknown's.

Create a system by isolating the desired variables the best you can. Or - if your lazy, type the system into a TI-89 and solve it.
 
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Forgot to mention - you will need to sub in the values for Tc and Vc and whatever else so that your equation is entirely in terms of R, a, and b. With any amount of mathematical luck - the R values will end up canceling out.

If not - give up and cry.
 
I can't sub in the values of Tc and Vc because that is what I am looking for. I guess I wasnt that clear but I need Tc vc and Pc in terms of a,b and R. The answer is up there, I just cant get from start to finish!

+K
 
I'm pretty sure this is the real world... I know I will probably have to use it at least once in the "real world" when I write my exam. Even if I never need to use it again after that, it never hurts to learn something new.

If people didn't have curiosity and try to figure out this kinda stuff, we would be back in the stone age still. We certainly wouldn't be able to have a conversation on the internet or drive to a ski hill, or run a chairlift, without this stuff!
 
Well my suggestion still stands - rather set both partials equal to each other and sub in the value of Tc and solve for Vc. Then vice versa, that will get you those two terms entirely in terms of a,b, and R. That would be where I would start anyways.
 
haha couldnt put it better myself. and i would title this thread calc problem not physics, even if it is for physics class, just because its more relavent to that
 
GOT IT. Thanks everyone, especially 45 and funkmaster! I had the same idea as you guys, but gave up when it got messy. I tried it again after that and got it right away.

If anyone wants to see it I will post it, it's about two pages of math though.

 
I guess it's useless in the real world, just like calculus and linear algebra.

I wonder why they even bother teaching it to every science and engineering student on the planet...
 
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