Boyle's Gas Laws

Discovered by Irish chemist Robert Boyle, Boyle's Gas Law describes the relationship between pressure and volume of gas at a consistent temperature.

History

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) discovered the law in 1660 and published it in his book, "A Defense of the Doctrine Touching the Spring and Weight of Air."

Experiment

Boyle heated a glass tube and bent it into the shape of a letter J, sealing the short end. Into the opening of the long section he poured mercury, trapping air at the end of the shorter leg.

Discovery

Boyle observed increased mercury resulted in increased pressure. When pressure doubled, the volume of the trapped air decreased by half.

Law

The discovery, known as Boyle's Law, stated that volume and pressure of a gas have an inverse relationship. As pressure increases, volume decreases, and vice versa.

Equation

Boyle's Law is expressed as PV = constant, where P is pressure and V is volume. This equation also has application in finding proportional changes in volume or pressure. Because the relationship between initial pressure and volume P1 and V1 are as constant as changed pressure and volume P2 and V2, proportions can be found with the equation P1 V1 = P2 V2.

References

• NASA Glenn Research Center: Boyle's Law
• Boyle's Law
• Boyle's Law and the Law of Atmospheres

Resources

• Gas Laws
• Virtual Chemistry Experiments on Gas Laws
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Robert Boyle