Dear all
I had a discussion the other day. Just small talk really. A friend of mine had tried to answer this question off the top of his head and soon we were off with speculation regarding anticipated reactions. Here is a diagram for your convenience and an excuse for maybe not phrasing this right.

1. I have a cylinder of a given size and filled with water and made of a material that can with stand high pressures.
2. Inside this cylinder I place a balloon
filled with atmospheric air. It is positioned in the center of the
cylinder and is equally far away from any side of the container, in mid
water. (No strings attached in the diagram)
3. I now introduce a piston sealing the cylinder and exerting pressure on the water.
Q: What happens to the balloon?
1. Does it shrink in size?
2. Does it expand?
3. Does it stay the same?
4. Are the processes inside the balloon of physical and chemical
nature at the same time? Would not the heat and pressure, to the nth
degree, cause phase changes of the gases inside the balloon and thereby
causing chemical reactions?
If 1. is the case then the air in the balloon would heat due to the pressure exerted by the surrounding water.
If 2. is correct I will eat my hat.
If 3. is correct then the amount of heat generated by the pressure, which would expand the gases, will be at equilibrium at one stage.
If 4. is the case were and when to draw the line?
As many of you know I am not any good with complicated formulas and if at all possible, could the consequences of this experiment be explained in simple terms? If need be I'll get some help with understanding the formulas, so feel too discouraged to use them.
I am using atmospheric air which might complicate matters. If using only one gas there would be no possibility of chemical or catalytic reactions at high temperatures/pressures which is what I am really after. How would the gasses combine, if at all, and would they separate after pressure is released? You see, I am one confused man and my neighbor is in the same state of mind.
I hope that this is not seen as homework. It could prove that I had the measles when this was a subject in physics so sorry if this is insulting your intelligence. I mean well, and am trying to put the results into a practical application in the end. Maybe some thing similar has been asked before on CR4 but how to find it?
Hope you can help us out, thanks, Ky.
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