If Pressure is inversely proportional to volume, theoretically, how does a tire burst if you pump too much air in it? If the volume inside the tire is increasing shouldn’t the pressure decrease?
In: 0
Pressure is inversely proportional to volume if the amount of gas (and the temperature) remains constant. Imagine a balloon with a set amount of air inside it: if you squish the balloon, the volume of the balloon decreases, but the pressure increases (it becomes harder to keep squishing, disregarding the fact it kind of stretches out to the sides in an attempt to increase volume).
With a tyre, any air you put into the tyre is going to increase the pressure in the tire. That pressure is going to push on the tyre walls and increase the volume, thus decreasing the pressure in step. But you’re still adding more air in, and the tyre can’t get infinitely large, so eventually the volume stops growing and the pressure starts building. If the pressure gets to large that it overcomes the strength of the tyre, then you get an explosion.
Latest Answers