“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but rather when there is nothing more to take away.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html

Read more at The Journal

According to the help files, the add-in includes a library of “several hundred” common molecules (although only 7 appear in the Chemistry Gallery). If you have or can write a CML (chemical markup language) representation of other molecules, you can import them into your library.

2D structures are inserted into the document as PNG images so the Chem4Word add-in isn’t required for others to view your document.

There are also facilities for tagging and indexing structures used within a document.

Watch a 3-minute demo of the add-in.

Download the beta version of the add-in. Microsoft’s research blog promises that the add-in will be released later this year as an open-source project under an Apache license.

You’ll need Visual Studio Tools for Office 3.0 Runtime SP1 to run the add-in. If you don’t have that installed, the installer will ask you if you want to download and install it.

• Download and install the Euler Math Toolbox.
• Cut and paste the code for notebook3.3 below into a plain text file, and save it as “notebook3.3.en”.
• Cut and paste the code for Gice into a plain text file, and save it as “Gice.e”. This file must be placed in the same directory as notebook3.3.en.
• Double-click notebook3.3.en. It should open up in the Toolbox.

All of the notebooks in this series are specifically keyed to Atkins’ Physical Chemistry, 8th edition. Italics mark the items students had to fill in themselves.

--------------------------------------------------notebook 3.3 code begins------------------------------------------
 Notebook 3.3 Calculating Physical Properties from Thermodynamic Potentials
%
% In this notebook, we'll use thermodynamic potentials to predict material properties.
% In particular, we'll use an empirical Gibbs free energy function for ice to show how
% properties like density, energy, and entropy vary with temperature and pressure.
%
% REFERENCES
%     1. Fiestel, R., Wagner, W., Tchijov, V., Guder, C.,
%         "Numerical implementation and oceanographic application of the Gibbs
%          potential of ice",  Ocean Science, 1, 29-38, 2005.
%     2. Fiestel, R., Wright, D. G., Miyagawa, K., Harvey, A. H, Hruby, A. H.,
%        Jackett, D. R., McDougall, T. J., Wagner, W., "Mutually consistent
%        thermodynamic potentials for fluid water, ice, and seawater: a new
%        standard for oceanography", Ocean Science, 4, 275-291, 2008.
%
% BACKGROUND
%     We can calculate many material properties as first and second derivatives
%     of the Gibbs free energy (see Section 3.9 in Atkins 8e).
%     We've already seen how functions can be defined in Euler. In this notebook,
%     we'll define functions in Maxima  using the ":=" operator. For example, to
%     define a function that calculates the area of a circle from its radius,
%     we can type
%
>: area(r) := %pi*r^2

                                                2
                                area(r) := %pi r

%
% The area of a circle with a radius of 2 m can be calculated as
>: area(2)

                                      4 %pi

% or
>: area(r), r=2

                                      4 %pi

%
% ...both mean the same thing, and give the same result.
%
% We've already seen that we can calculate derivatives like dA/dr
% with the diff() function:
%
>: diff(area(r),r)

                                     2 %pi r

%
% We can calculate second derivatives as well by repeating the differentiation
%
>: diff(diff(area(r),r), r)

                                      2 %pi

%
% but there's an easier way. Maxima lets you specify the order of the derivative
% as a third argument to diff.
% For the second derivative of area with respect to r, we can type
%
>: diff(area(r),r,2)

                                      2 %pi

% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% In the space below, calculate the surface area of a sphere from its volume.
% The volume of a sphere is (4/3) pi r^3,  and the surface area of the sphere is
% dV/dr.
%
>: V(r) := (4/3)*%pi*r^3

                                        4      3
                                V(r) := - %pi r
                                        3

>: surfacearea : diff(V(r),r)

                                           2
                                    4 %pi r

%
% The line below loads the thermodynamic potential from Reference
% 1 into Maxima from an external file ("Gice.e"). The Maxima function
% Gice(T,P) computes  the Gibbs free energy of one kilogram of ice
% (in J/kg) at a temperature of T (in K) and a pressure of P (in
% Pa).
%
>load("Gice")

%
% We can have Maxima print back the Gice(T,P) function for us:
>: Gice(T,P)

                                                            2
        273.16 (- 65.22370501477501 (1.7162371555667344E-4 T
  + atan2(0.051046477118412, 0.0036608581051398 T + 0.037153909034639)
  (0.0036608581051398 T + 0.037153909034639)
  + atan2(0.051046477118412, 0.037153909034639 - 0.0036608581051398 T)
  (0.037153909034639 - 0.0036608581051398 T)
                                                                    2
  + 0.025523238559206 log((0.0036608581051398 T + 0.037153909034639)
  + 0.0026057428262006) + 0.025523238559206
                                                2
  log((0.037153909034639 - 0.0036608581051398 T)  + 0.0026057428262006)
  + 0.21205793408363) - (- 2.7329787774916599E-11
                                         2
  (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
  + 5.0905901194652602E-5 (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
                                               2
  - 80.98785064626451) (1.9417364295872538E-5 T
  + atan2(0.34331589201784, 0.0036608581051398 T + 0.34509582956282)
  (0.0036608581051398 T + 0.34509582956282)
  + atan2(0.34331589201784, 0.34509582956282 - 0.0036608581051398 T)
  (0.34509582956282 - 0.0036608581051398 T)
                                                                  2
  + 0.17165794600892 log((0.0036608581051398 T + 0.34509582956282)
  + 0.11786580171201) + 0.17165794600892
                                               2
  log((0.34509582956282 - 0.0036608581051398 T)  + 0.11786580171201)
  - 0.045958113581803) + (2.3961751351811602E-11
                                         2
  (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
  - 5.7552976563435302E-5 (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
                                               2
  - 75.8695106343435) (- 1.951803454312407E-5 T
                                                  2
  + (log((0.0036608581051398 T + 0.34509582956282)  + 0.11786580171201)
  (0.0036608581051398 T + 0.34509582956282))/2
                                                  2
  + (log((0.34509582956282 - 0.0036608581051398 T)  + 0.11786580171201)
  (0.34509582956282 - 0.0036608581051398 T))/2
  - 0.34331589201784 atan2(0.34331589201784,
 0.0036608581051398 T + 0.34509582956282)
  - 0.34331589201784 atan2(0.34331589201784,
 0.34509582956282 - 0.0036608581051398 T) + 1.034399513744271)
                                              2
  + 45.951447199735 (- 1.2491541583149561E-4 T
                                                   2
  + (log((0.0036608581051398 T + 0.037153909034639)  + 0.0026057428262006)
  (0.0036608581051398 T + 0.037153909034639))/2
                                                   2
  + (log((0.037153909034639 - 0.0036608581051398 T)  + 0.0026057428262006)
  (0.037153909034639 - 0.0036608581051398 T))/2
  - 0.051046477118412 atan2(0.051046477118412,
 0.0036608581051398 T + 0.037153909034639)
  - 0.051046477118412 atan2(0.051046477118412,
 0.037153909034639 - 0.0036608581051398 T) + 0.30140605416073))
  + 3333.18160308627 T - 5.7859365867952202E-22
                                         4
  (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
                                                                3
  + 3.40692612753936E-15 (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
                                                               2
  - 1.89952376891314E-8 (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594)
  + 0.65502999780479 (0.0016349032219038 P - 165.6565689594) - 632578.704355102

%
% We can use this function to compute (and graph) almost all of
% the major state functions for ice. For example, (dG/dP)_T = V,
% so the volume of one kilogram of ice can be calculated using the
% line below.
%
% Notice that we calculate (dG/dP)_T symbolically with diff(), and
% then evaluate it at t,p using at(). In English, the following
% line says, "V(t,p) is the value of dG/dP at temperature t and
% pressure p".
%
%
>: V(t,p) := at(diff(Gice(T,P), P), [T=t, P=p])

               V(t, p) := at(diff(Gice(T, P), P), [T = t, P = p])

%
% At 263.15 K and 10101325 Pascals, the volume of one kilogram of ice (in
% cubic meters) is
>: V(263.15,10101325)

                               0.0010878711964292

%
% Let's plot the volume of 1 kilogram of ice as a function of temperature
% from 250 K to 280 K, at a constant pressure of 1 atm.
%
% First, we define lists of temperatures and volumes to plot. It's
% going to be easier if the temperature list can be read by both
% Maxima and Euler. Notice that
%
% >Temperature = 250:280  would define the array ONLY in Euler,
%%>Temperature ::= 250:280 defines the array in BOTH Maxima and
% Euler.
%
% If the ::= operator doesn't work, you're using an old version
% of Euler. Upgrade.
> Temperature ::=250:280;
%
% Now we use the Maxima function V(t,p) to make a list of volumes
% in Euler. Recall that the mxmeval function sends a command (in
% double quotes) from Euler to Maxima.
> Volume = mxmeval("V(Temperature,p)", p=101325);
> plot2d(Temperature,Volume);
> xlabel("Temperature (K)");
> ylabel("Volume (m^3/kg)");
> title("Volume of 1 kg ice, predicted by Fiestel's 2005 Gibbs Potential");
> insimg;

>Volume = mxmeval("V(Temperature,p)", p=101325)*(1/1e-6)*(1/1000);
>plot2d(Temperature, Volume);
>label("1 atm",266,mean(Volume));
>Volume = mxmeval("V(Temperature,p)", p=500*101325)*(1/1e-6)*(1/1000);
>plot2d(Temperature, Volume, add=1, thickness=2);
>label("500 atm",266,mean(Volume));
>Volume = mxmeval("V(Temperature,p)", p=1000*101325)*(1/1e-6)*(1/1000);
>plot2d(Temperature, Volume, add=1, thickness=2);
>label("1000 atm",266,mean(Volume));
> xlabel("Temperature (K)");
> ylabel("Volume (cm^3/g)");
> title("Specific Volume of Ice Predicted by Fiestel's 2005 Gibbs Potential");
>insimg;

% ----------------------------------------------------------
%%In the space below, define a function that calculates the coefficient
% of isothermal compressibility
%
% kappa_T = -(1/V)(dV/dP)_T
%
% for ice as a function of temperature and pressure. Call your function
% to calculate the isothermal compressibility of ice at the triple
% point; under those conditions, kappa_T is about 1.18 x 10^-10
% Pa^-1.
%
%
>: kappaT(t,p) := at(-(1/V(T,P))*diff(V(T,P),P),[T=t,P=p]);

                                 1
        kappaT(t, p) := at((- -------) diff(V(T, P), P), [T = t, P = p])
                              V(T, P)

>: kappaT(273.16,611.657)

                             1.1791917359556073E-10

% --------------------------------------------------------------
%%In the space below, plot the isothermal compressibility for ice
% predicted for temperatures from 250 K to 280 K, at pressures of
%  1, 100, and 500 atm. Scale the y-axis of the plot so it is easy
% to read, and label each individual curve on your plot.
%
>scalefactor=10^floor(log(mxmeval("kappaT(t,p)",t=mean(Temperature),p=101325))/log(10))
              1e-011
>kappaTvalues = mxmeval("kappaT(t,p)",t=Temperature,p=101325)/scalefactor;
>plot2d(Temperature,kappaTvalues);
>xlabel("Temperature (K)");
>ylabel("Isothermal Compressibility kappa_T (Pa^-1)/" | scalefactor);
>title("Isothermal Compressibility of Ice Predicted by Fiestel's 2005 Gibbs Potential");
>label("1 atm",mean(Temperature),mean(kappaTvalues));
>kappaTvalues = mxmeval("kappaT(t,p)",t=Temperature,p=100*101325)/scalefactor;
>plot2d(Temperature,kappaTvalues,add=1);
>label("100 atm",mean(Temperature),mean(kappaTvalues));
>kappaTvalues = mxmeval("kappaT(t,p)",t=Temperature,p=500*101325)/scalefactor;
>plot2d(Temperature,kappaTvalues,add=1);
>label("500 atm",255,0.85);
>insimg;

-------------------------------notebook 3.3 code ends------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------Gice code begins------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:Gice(T,P) :=  block([g0: [-632578.704355102, 0.655029997804786, -1.89952376891314e-8,
 3.40692612753936e-15,-5.78593658679522e-22],	t: [3.71539090346389e-2 +
5.10464771184122e-2*%i, 0.345095829562823 + 0.343315892017841*%i], r:
[45.951447199735 + 65.223705014775*%i, 0.0 + 0.0*%i],r2: [-75.8695106343435
-80.9878506462645*%i, -5.75529765634353e-5 + 5.09059011946526e-5*%i,
2.39617513518116e-11 -2.73297877749166e-11*%i], Tt: 273.160, Pt: 611.657, p0:
165.6565689594, Pr: P/Pt, Tr: T/Tt,  sigma0: -3333.18160308627], r[2]: sum(r2[k+1]*(P/Pt-
p0)^k,k,0,2), -sigma0*T + sum(g0[k+1]*(P/Pt-p0)^k,k,0,4)+Tt*realpart(sum(r[k]*((t[k]-T
/Tt)*log(t[k]-T/Tt) + (t[k]+T/Tt)*log(t[k]+T/Tt) - 2*t[k]*log(t[k])-(T/Tt)^2/t[k]),k,1,2)))$
%
function atan2(y,x) := atan(y/x)
------------------------------Gice code ends--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a developer of educational media who works mostly in Flash, I’m disappointed at the lack of Flash support in both the iPad and the iPhone. For the first time, I can no longer assume that the vast majority of my students have Flash Player installed.

I know everything will be groovy when HTML₅ is really here (late 2012, at the earliest), and I’m looking forward to deploying HTML₅ pages, in much the same way that I’m looking forward to cheap space travel, friendly robots, and flying cars.

If you’re an end user of Flash, you might get the impression from what’s currently being claimed that HTML₅ can, will, and should replace Flash, because it can deliver video, and it can even do vector graphics and animation, and it can do these things in an open and non-proprietary way. That impression isn’t correct. HTML₅ with video and WebGL can’t do everything Flash can do. Even if it could, there just aren’t mature design and development tools for building apps with rich Flash-like interactivity in HTML₅ yet- and there won’t be for years.

As far as HTML₅ being open and non-proprietary, wait to see which codec is eventually adopted. Chrome and Safari’s implementations of HTML₅ both use H.264, which is patented. That’s bad news, because you’ll have to pay for a license to encode and deliver your video in H.264. Building the web around technologies that require royalties is a terrible mistake.

I hope that Flash players for the iPad and iPhone will appear eventually (although the limited capabilities of the iPhone make a full player for that platform seem unlikely). For now, Apple’s decision to not support Flash on the iPad has given Flash-capable tablets by competitors an easy advantage.

Episode 1: Discovering the Elements (Aired January 21, 2010 on BBC)
EP 1 Part 1
EP 1 Part 2
EP 1 Part 3
EP 1 Part 4
EP 1 Part 5
EP 1 Part 6
To play all parts, click here.

Episode 2: Ordering the Elements (Aired January 28, 2010 on BBC)
EP 2 Part 1
EP 2 Part 2
EP 2 Part 3
EP 2 Part 4
EP 2 Part 5
EP 2 Part 6
To play all parts, click here.

* Download and install the Euler Math Toolbox.
* Cut and paste the code below into a plain text file.
* Save the file with an .en file extension.
* Double-click the file. It should open up in the Toolbox.

All of the notebooks in this series are specifically keyed to Atkins’ Physical Chemistry, 8th edition. Italics mark the items students had to fill in themselves.

----------------------------------------------------snip snip----------------------------------------------------------
 Notebook 3.2: Variation of the Gibbs Free Energy with Temperature
%
% In this notebook, we'll predict the boiling points of a liquid by looking for a
% temperature that makes the Gibbs free energies of the vapor and liquid equal.
% To compute the Gibbs free energy at standard state (constant pressure),
% we'll integrate the equation
%
%               dG = -SdT
%
% We'll need to find S as a function of T to do the integral. A very accurate
% empirical fit called the Shomate equation can be used here:
%
% S = A*log(t) + B*t + C*t^2/2 + D*t^3/3 - E/(2*t^2) + G;
%
% where we can find look up the Shomate coefficients A, B, C, D, E, and G on
% the NIST Chemistry Webbook (http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry).
%
% When we're doing a complicated calculation that will be repeated many times,
% it's convenient to define the calculation as a "function". In Euler, we can define
% a function with a series of statements like
%
%      function f(x)
%          ....
%      return y
%      endfunction
%
% where f is the function name, x is value passed to the function, and y is the
% calculated value of f(x) to be returned. For example, here is a function that
% computes the pressure of an ideal gas from its temperature and molar volume:
%
>function Pideal(V,T)
$R=0.082059;
$return R*T/V;
$endfunction
%
% We can compute the pressure of an ideal gas with V = 22.4 L/mol and
% T = 273.15 K in atmospheres as
>Pideal(22.4, 273.15)
      1.000643564732
%
% which is exactly the same as typing
>0.082059*273.15/22.4
      1.000643564732
%
% Let's define a function that computes the entropy of steam at temperature
% T using the Shomate equation. The Shomate coefficients for water and steam
% are taken from
% http://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C7732185&Units=SI&Mask=7.
%
>function EntropySteam(T)
$t=T/1000;
$A=30.09200;
$B=6.832514;
$C=6.793435;
$D=-2.534480;
$E=0.082139;
$G=223.3967;
$return A*log(t) + B*t + C*t^2/2 + D*t^3/3 - E/(2*t^2) + G;
$endfunction
%
% This function computes the entropy in SI units (J mol^-1 K^-1 )
% To check to see that we've typed all the coefficients in correctly, we can
% compare our entropy at 298.15 with the CODATA Review value,
% 188.835 +/- 0.010 J mol^-1 K^-1
% (Cox, J. D.; Wagman, D. D.; Medvedev, V. A., CODATA Key Values for
% Thermodynamics, Hemisphere Publishing Corp., New York, 1984, 1).
%
>EntropySteam(298.15)
      188.8352691656
%
% Looks good. Now let's calculate the entropy of liquid water, again using
% Shomate equation coefficients from the NIST Webbook:
%
>function EntropyWater(T)
$t = T/1000;
$A = -203.6060;
$B = 1523.290;
$C = -3196.413;
$D = 2474.455;
$E = 3.855326;
$G = -488.7163;
$return A*log(t) + B*t + C*t^2/2 + D*t^3/3 - E/(2*t^2) + G;
$endfunction
%
% Again, we see that the function correctly predicts the CODATA Review value
%  of the standard entropy of water at
% 298.15 K, which should be 69.95 ± 0.03 J mol^-1 K^-1.
%
>EntropyWater(298.15)
      69.95364324026
%
% To integrate -S dT from 298.15 K to 500 K, we can type
%
>-integrate("EntropySteam(x)",298.15,500)
     -40041.68164763
%
% Typing "EntropySteam(T)" won't work; because Euler doesn't know we want to
% integrate with respect to T.
% We have to call the integration variable "x".
%
% The integral gives us the change in Gibbs free energy between 298.15 and
% 500 K. To get the Gibbs free energy itself at some temperature T, we can
% add the Gibbs free energy of formation at 298.15 to the integral of -S dT
% from 298.15 K to T:
%
>function GSteam(T)
$DeltaGfo = -228570;
$return DeltaGfo - integrate("EntropySteam(x)",298.15,T)
$endfunction
%
% At 500 K, the Gibbs free energy of steam is
%
>GSteam(500)
     -268611.6816476
%
% Now let's build an array of Gibbs free energies for the gas (call it Ggas)
% and a corresponding array of temperatures. Suppose we want 200 points:
>Ggas = 1:200; T = 1:200;
%
% Unfortunately, we can't just type Ggas = GSteam(T), because
% our GSteam function only calculates one Gibbs free energy at a time. We
% can use a "for" loop to process each individual element of the T and Ggas
% arrays. The syntax is
%
%     for index=start to finish;  ... end
%
% For example, if we wanted to set up 200 temperature points, starting from
% 299.15 K and ending with 499.15 K, we could type
%
>for i=1 to 200; T[i] = 298.15 + i; end
%
% Now set up the Ggas array. We'd like the Gibbs free energy to
% be displayed in kilojoules per mole.
%
>for i=1 to 200; Ggas[i]= GSteam(T[i])/1000; end
%
% Plot the Gibbs free energy of the gas as a function of T:
%
>plot2d(T,Ggas,thickness=2);
>xlabel("Temperature (K)");
>ylabel("Gibbs Free Energy (kJ/mol)");
>label("gas",T[160],Ggas[150]);
%
% Now let's add a liquid curve to the plot. First, define a function
% to calculate the Gibbs free energy of water at a specific temperature:
%
>function GWater(T)
$DeltaGo = -237130;
$return DeltaGo -integrate("EntropyWater(x)",298.15,T)
$endfunction
%
% Now set up an array to hold the Gibbs free energy data for the liquid
% (call it Gliq).
%
>Gliq = 1:200;
>for i=1 to 200; Gliq[i] = GWater(T[i])/1000; end
%
% Add the liquid curve to the graph.
%
>plot2d(T,Gliq,add=1,thickness=1);
>title("Determination of Boiling Point from Vapor/Liquid Gibbs Free Energies");
>label("liquid",T[160],Gliq[150]);
%
% When the Gibbs free energies of the liquid and gas are equal,
% the liquid boils. To get the boiling point Tbp, then, we need
% to solve the equation GSteam(Tbp) = GWater(Tbp) for Tbp.
%
% In a previous notebook, we used Euler's root() function to solve
% equations like this. We need an initial guess for Tbp. Anything
% that isn't too far off will do, so we'll use the midpoint of our
% temperature range as a rough guess:
>bp = mean(T)
              398.65
%
% Now use root to find the intersection of the two curves.
>bp = root("GSteam(bp)-GWater(bp)",bp)
       373.216970275
%
% ...which is only about .05 K different from the true standard
% boiling point of water.
%
% We can double-check by printing the Gibbs free energies of the
% liquid and gas at this temperature. They must be equal.
>GSteam(bp)
     -243040.0752017
>GWater(bp)
     -243040.0752017
%
% Finally, let's mark the boiling point on the plot. We want to
% drop a line from the intersection at (bp, GSteam(bp)/1000) to
% the x axis at (bp, min(Ggas)).
%%
>plot2d(bp,GSteam(bp)/1000,add=1,points="[]");
>plot2d([bp,bp],[GSteam(bp)/1000,min(Ggas)],add=1,style="--");
>label("Boiling Point",bp,Ggas[190]);
>insimg;

%
% Make a NEW notebook (using this one as a model) that locates the
%
% boiling point of some other compound by plotting the Gibbs free
% energy for the phases in equilibrium. Your notebook should include
% a graph set up and labeled like the one above. It should also
% include a numerical estimate of the boiling or melting temperature.
%
>


...
var t:TextField = new TextField();
var f:TextFormat = new TextFormat();
...
t.type = TextFieldType.INPUT;
f.font = "Arial";
f.size = 20;
t.setTextFormat(f);
addChild(t);
...

Text typed into the text field appears in the default serif font, not in Arial 20.

Solution You can’t style user input or replaced text in Actionscript 3.0 with setTextFormat, instead, you have to use defaultTextFormat. Just replace the line that calls setTextFormat with


t.defaultTextFormat = f;


and the input field will use the text format in f correctly. This won’t work if you’re using an ActionScript 3.0 style sheet with the textfield, though.

• Download and install the Euler Math Toolbox.
• Cut and paste the code below into a plain text file.
• Save the file with an .en file extension.
• Double-click the file. It should open up in the Toolbox.

All of the notebooks in this series are specifically keyed to Atkins’ Physical Chemistry, 8th edition. Italics mark the items students had to fill in themselves.

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 Notebook 2.1: Work in Reversible Isothermal Expansions
%
% In reversible expansions or compressions, the external pressure constantly changes so that
% it remains exactly equal to the pressure of the gas. In this special case, we can substitute
% the pressure calculated from the gas's equation of state for the external pressure when calculating work.
% For example, the work done to compress n moles of an ideal gas from V1 to V2 under reversible
% conditions at temperature T is
%
>: assume(V1>0, V2>0, V1>V2, V>0)

                        [V1 > 0, V2 > 0, V1 > V2, V > 0]

>: work_ideal: -integrate(n*R*T/V,V,V1,V2)

                            n R T (log(V1) - log(V2))

% If the "assume" had been omitted, Maxima would have asked a series of questions about
% the signs of the volumes during the integration.
%
% If we want to calculate the work for specific temperatures and volumes, we can use Maxima's
% comma operator. For example,
>: work_ideal, n=1, R=8.314, T=298, V1=1, V2=0.5, numer

                                1717.322046434265

%
% Integrating -n*R*T/V with respect to V from V1 to V2 at constant T gives -n*R*T*ln(V2/V1), so we could
% also have calculated the work as -n*R*T*log(V2/V1).
%  --> Notice that the Maxima function for natural logarithms is log(),  NOT ln()!)
%  --> The final ",numer" tells Maxima that we want a number as an answer. Maxima will sometimes
%        just display logs of whole numbers without calculating them in a final result if we don't include this.
% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% In the space below, create an expression called work_vdw that calculates the work for a reversible isothermal
% expansion of a van der Waals gas as it expands from volume V1 to volume V2 at temperature T.
%
>: assume(V>b, V1>b, V2>b)

                             [V > b, V1 > b, V2 > b]

>: work_vdw: -integrate(n*R*T/(V-b)-n^2*a/V^2,V,V1,V2)

                                       2                          2
                                    a n                        a n
              - n R T log(V2 - b) - ---- + n R T log(V1 - b) + ----
                                     V2                         V1

% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% In the space below, use the comma operator to calculate the work for one mole of  xenon expanding from 1 m^3
% to a volume of 10 m^3 at a temperature of 298 K.
%
>: work_vdw, a=5.125, b=1.06e-2, T=298, n=1, V1=1, V2=10, R=8.314,numer

                               - 5723.982679505956

% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% In the space below, use the comma operator to calculate the work for one mole of  xenon expanding from 1 m^3
% to a volume of 10 m^3 at a temperature of 298 K IGNORING INTERMOLECULAR ATTRACTIONS.
%
>: work_vdw, a=0, b=1.06e-2, T=298, n=1, V1=1, V2=10, R=8.314, numer

                               - 5728.595179505956

% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% In the space below, use the comma operator to calculate the work for one mole of  xenon expanding from 1 m^3
% to a volume of 10 m^3 at a temperature of 298 K IGNORING INTERMOLECULAR REPULSIONS.
%
>: work_vdw, a=5.125, b=0, T=298, n=1, V1=1, V2=10, R=8.314, numer

                               - 5700.207854019444

% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% In the space below, use the comma operator to calculate the work for one mole of  xenon expanding from 1 m^3
% to a volume of 10 m^3 at a temperature of 298 K IGNORING ALL INTERMOLECULAR FORCES.
%
>: work_vdw, a=0, b=0, T=298, n=1, V1=1, V2=10, R=8.314, numer

                               - 5704.820354019445