Boyle's law
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This is an intermediate page for Boyle's law.
Authored entries
Boyle's Law, aka Hooke's, Boyle's, and Mariotte's Law (Neal Stephenson) The idea of quoting without copying is called transclusion
Community entry
Boyle's law states that if the temperature remains constant, the volume of a mass of gas is inversely proportional to the pressure. This can also be stated as: PV = nRT. The practical implications of this law are important when engaging in activities such as scuba diving or pumping up a bicycle tire.
[Boyle's law is actually PV = k, where k is a constant; this is sometimes written in the form P1V1 = P2V2, where "1" and "2" represent initial and final states of a gas. So, for example, if you suddenly double the volume of a gas, its pressure will fall to half the original pressure.
The equation PV = nRT is more commonly called the ideal gas law (or universal gas law).]
In this formula: P is pressure V is volume n is the number of moles of gas R is the ideal gas constant T is temperature
The value of R depends on the units used elsewhere. For SI units, R = 8.314 joules/kelvin/mole; another common value is 0.0821 liters-atmospheres/mole-kelvin. [Pressure x volume is equivalent to energy, which is why one form can have liters times atmospheres while another uses joules.]