adiabatic process
A process in which there is no exchange of heat or mass with the environment. In an adiabatic process, a change in internal energy is solely a consequence of work. For an ideal gas and most atmospheric conditions, compression results in warming, whereas expansion results in cooling.
See dry-adiabatic process, moist-adiabatic process, adiabatic lapse rate.
Term edited 19 December 2019.
