Does compressed gas get cold when released?

Answer by  Lathlynde (53)

When released, compressed gas changes temperature based on its surroundings. If the surroundings are colder than the container of compressed gas, then the gas will get cold. If the surroundings are warmer than the container, then the gas will get warmer.

Answer by  JohnDoe65 (14)

When compressed gas is released, the gas heats up by drawing heat from the surroundings, therefore making the surroundings cold.

Answer by  reliable80 (125)

Yes all compressed gases get cold when they are allowed to freely expand. Energy is required to expand the gas, and that comes from the heat in the surrounding environment.

Answer by  john11 (617)

Compressed gas released from its container is cooler relative to its external surroundings. This is because the pressure had slowed the random motion of the molecules if the gas (the Brownian motion). It gains the energy back once releases, speeding up the molecules and feels cooler because of this.

Answer by  dsmith42 (371)

Yes. Expansion of a gas is a cooling process. If you have ever seen the cloud that forms when a compressed cannon fires, this is water vapor condensing out of the formerly compressed air as it cools.

Answer by  phoenix27 (75)

The release of a compressed gas into an atmosphere of unlimited volume is an endothermic process. That means that the gas will absorb heat from the environment and will thus give the impression of getting cold. This is based on the ideal gas law that states that pressure times volume is proportional to temperature.

Answer by  rendo (66)

Yes, because of thermodynamics. When gas atoms are compressed, they cannot move much because they are so close together, sometimes they even become a liquid as in liquid propane. When they are released they want to move away from each other requiring energy which is removed from the environment.

Answer by  Mahesh (8)

yes, when the gas get released it moves from a high pressure region to a low pressure region, so the gas expands and there is a rapid decrease in pressure and increase in volume of the gas which leads to a reduction of the inter molecular collisions resulting in a fall in temperature