Gases Can Behave

The atmosphere is too vast for us to have any control over atmospheric pressure. Contained gases are a different matter. We can add gas or remove it, shrink or expand the container, or heat or cool the gas. In this chapter we will examine the work of such eminent scientists as Robert Boyle, Jacques Charles, and Joseph Gay-Lussac. These scientists studied the effects of changes in the pressure, volume, and temperature of contained gases. From their results they proposed a set of relationships that together are known as the gas laws. Using the kinetic theory, however,we can often explain how gases will respond to a change of conditions without resorting to formal mathematical expressions. We will therefore begin this chapter with some examples of how simple kinetic theory is used to explain gas behaviour. Our emphasis will be on ideal gas law.

General Explanation of Gas Laws