Ideal gas law | Definition, Formula, & Facts | Britannica (2024)

ideal gas law, relation between the pressure P, volume V, and temperature T of a gas in the limit of low pressures and high temperatures, such that the molecules of the gas move almost independently of each other. In such a case, all gases obey an equation of state known as the ideal gas law: PV = nRT, where n is the number of moles of the gas and R is the universal (or perfect) gas constant, 8.31446261815324 joules per kelvin per mole. (The universal gas constant is defined as Avogadro’s number N_A times the Boltzmann constant k.) In the International System of Units, energy is measured in joules, volume in cubic metres (m³), force in newtons (N), and pressure in pascals (Pa), where 1 Pa = 1 N/m². A force of one newton moving through a distance of one metre does one joule of work. Thus, both the products PV and nRT have the dimensions of work (energy).

The ideal gas law is a generalization containing both Boyle’s law and Charles’s law as special cases. This law can be derived from the kinetic theory of gases and relies on the assumptions that (1) the gas consists of a large number of molecules, which are in random motion and obey Newton’s laws of motion, (2) the volume of the molecules is negligibly small compared with the volume occupied by the gas, and (3) no forces act on the molecules except during elastic collisions of negligible duration.

Although no gas has these properties, the behaviour of real gases is described quite closely by the ideal gas law. A gas does not obey the equation when conditions are such that the gas, or any of the component gases in a mixture, is near its condensation point, the temperature at which it liquefies.