Thermal expansion Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
Volume mixing ratio 2026-10-06
For an ideal gas mixture, the volume mixing ratio equals the mole fraction, number fraction, and ratio of partial to total pressure: , with . This equivalence fails for general nonideal mixtures.
For positive finite opacity and nonvacuum ideal gas satisfying radiative diffusion, zero flux implies . Write , where for constant mean molecular weight in proton-mass units. If a polytropic equation of state with constant is also imposed, then . For , constant temperature would force constant density, contradicting vertical hydrostatic equilibrium on an open interval away from the midplane. The familiar finite polytropic slab for is therefore a solution of the hydrostatic/adiabatic closure, not of this finite-opacity zero-radiative-flux system. For , the consistent isothermal profile is , with no finite surface.