A thermally insulated rigid container contains an ideal gas at 27oC. It is fitted with a heating coil of resistance 50Ω. A current is passed through the coil for 10 minutes by connecting it to a d.c. source of 10 V. The change in the internal energy is
1200 J
Heat produced is given by
dQ=V2tR=(10)2×(10×60)50=1200 J
Since the container is rigid, the change in volume dV = 0. Hence work done dQ = PdV = 0. From the first law of thermodynamics, the change in internal energy is dU = dQ - dW = dQ = 1200 J.