GAS LAWS

1. Boyle’s Law

History

● Boyle’s Law was formulated by physicist Robert Boyle in 1662.

● Using Hooke's pump, Boyle and Hooke carried out experiments to investigate the
properties of air and the vacuum, making their first great discovery—Boyle's Law.
They made their discovery using a glass tube.

Definition

● For a fixed temperature and fixed amount of gas, the pressure and the volume are
inversely proportional.

Formula

Maxim: For a given mass of a sample, at a constant temperature, the product of the
pressure and volume remains proportionally equal.

References:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Boyles-law
2. Charles Law

History

● The law was first published by French natural philosopher Joseph Louis
Gay-Lussac in 1802, although he credited the discovery to unpublished work from
the 1780s by Jacques Charles, hence the name.
● When Jacques Charles initially created manned-balloon flight using hydrogen gas
produced through an exothermic chemical reaction, he did not cool it down before
charging it into the balloon. He subsequently found that after some time, the volume
of the balloon deflated.

Definition

● For a fixed pressure and fixed amount of gas, the volume and the absolute
temperature are directly proportional.

Formula

Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Charless-law

3. Guy-Lussac’s Law

History

● The law was discovered by French chemist Joseph Gay-Lussac in 1802.

● In 1804 Gay-Lussac made several daring ascents of over 7,000 meters above sea
level in hydrogen-filled balloons that allowed him to investigate other aspects of
gases at various altitudes, including pressure, temperature, and humidity, which he
later analyzed chemically.

Definition

● Gay-Lussac’s law states that the pressure of a gas is directly proportional to the
Kelvin temperature if the volume remains constant.

Formula
 ●

Reference:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Gay-Lussacs-law-of-combining-volumes

4.a. Avogadro’s Law

History

The concept was first proposed in 1811 by Amedeo Avogadro, a longtime professor of higher
physics at the University of Turin, but it wasn't until Stanislao Cannizzaro built a rational
system of chemistry on its foundation in 1858 that it received widespread acceptance.

Definition

Under either a constant or same condition of temperature and pressure (k), equal volumes
of all gases present in a system (V) contain the same number of molecules (n).

Formula

Axioms:

1. Volume is directly proportional to the number of molecules in a given system equal

to the constant assigned to the equal conditions of temperature and pressure

𝑉/𝑛 = 𝑘
References:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Avogadros-law

4.b The Ideal Gas Law

History

● The ideal gas law was discovered by physicist and engineer Benoît Paul
Émile Clapeyron in 1834.
● The ideal gas law is derived from the other gas laws, including the Avogadro’s
law, which states that the number of moles of two gas samples occupying the
same volume is the same at a constant pressure and temperature.

Definition
 ● The ideal gas law states that the product of the pressure and the volume of
one gram molecule of an ideal gas is equal to the product of the absolute
temperature of the gas and the universal gas constant.

Formula

5. DALTON'S LAW

Short history

● The English chemist John Dalton introduced the Dalton’s Law of partial pressures in
1801 as a result of his work into the quantity of water vapor that air could absorb at
various temperatures. It works under the assumption of an ideal (perfect) gas and no
chemical interaction between the constituent gasses; it derives from the kinetic
theory of gasses. At sufficiently high temperatures and low pressures, it roughly holds
true for actual gasses.

Definition

● Dalton's law of partial pressures suggests that the total pressure of a mixture of
gasses is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual component
gasses.

Formula and main factors

Sum of the individual partial pressures:
𝑃𝑇 = 𝑃1 + 𝑃2 + 𝑃3 +... 𝑃𝑁
where:
● 𝑃𝑇 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑠
● 𝑃𝑖 = 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠
 Source: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/gases-and-kinetic-molecular-theory/ideal-gas-laws/a/daltons-law-of-partial-pressure

To solve for the individual partial pressure using Dalton’s Law, we express the formula in
terms of the mole fraction of the individual gas:
𝑃𝑖 = 𝑥𝑖𝑃𝑇
where:
● 𝑥𝑖 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑖 ( 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑖
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 )
● 𝑃𝑇 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑠
● 𝑃𝑖 = 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑖

References:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Daltons-law
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/gases-and-kinetic-molecular-theory/ideal-gas-laws/a/daltons-law-of-partial-pre
ssure
http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/history/atomictheory.html

6. HAGEN-POISEUILLE EQUATION

Short history
Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen (1797–1844) and Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille both
contributed independently to its development. Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1797-1869)
developed and published Poiseuille's law in 1840 and 1846 after experimentally deriving it in
1838. In 1839, Hagen conducted his experiments.

Definition
The link between pressure, fluidic resistance, and flow rate is described by the
Hagen-Poiseuille equation, which is comparable to Ohm's law for electrical circuits'
descriptions of voltage, resistance, and current, respectively.

Formula and main factors

8µ𝐿𝑄
∆𝑝 = 4
π𝑅

● ∆𝑝 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠

● µ = 𝑑𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
 ● 𝐿 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒
● 𝑄 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
● π = 𝑝𝑖
● 𝑅 = 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠

References:
http://www.oilfieldwiki.com/wiki/Hagen%E2%80%93Poiseuille_equation
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/hagen-poiseuille-equation
7. REYNOLD'S NUMBER

Short history
The concept was introduced by George Stokes in 1851, but the Reynolds number was
named by Arnold Sommerfeld in 1908 after Osborne Reynolds (1842–1912), who performed
exhaustive experiments in the 1880s. Osborn Reynolds discovered that the flow regime
depends mainly on the ratio of the inertia forces to viscous forces in the fluid.

Definition
The Reynolds number represents the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces and is a
convenient parameter for predicting if a flow condition will be laminar or turbulent. It is
defined as a characteristic length multiplied by a characteristic velocity and divided by the
kinematic viscosity.

Simpler Definition
The Reynolds number is the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces. The Reynolds number
is a dimensionless number used to categorise the fluid systems in which the effect of
viscosity is important in controlling the velocities or the flow pattern of a fluid.

Formula and main factors

Where,

● Re is the Reynolds number

● ρ is the density of the fluid
● V is the velocity of flow
● D is the pipe diameter
● μ is the viscosity of the fluid

References:
https://www.nuclear-power.com/nuclear-engineering/fluid-dynamics/reynolds-number/history-of-reynolds-number/#:~:text=The%
20concept%20was%20introduced%20by,exhaustive%20experiments%20in%20the%201880s.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/reynolds-number#:~:text=The%20Reynolds%20number%20is%20the,flow%2
0pattern%20of%20a%20fluid.
8. GRAHAM’S LAW

Short history:
Graham’s first important paper dealt with the diffusion of gases (1829). He developed
“Graham’s law” of the diffusion rate of gases and also found that the relative rates of the
effusion of gases are comparable to the diffusion rates.

Definition:

A law stating that the rates of diffusion and effusion of a gas are inversely proportional to the
square root of the density of the gas.

Formula and main factors:

𝑟1 𝑀2
𝑟2
= 𝑀1

where:
𝑟1 = 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 1
𝑟2 = 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 2
𝑀1 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 1
𝑀2 = 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 2

References:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Graham#ref94040

9. GRAHAM’S LAW

Short history:
● Daniel Bernoulli, a Swiss mathematician, studied how water flows through pipes of
various diameters while conducting experiments involving liquids in the 1730s.
● He saw that water flowed slowly in a length of pipe with a relatively big diameter, but
that as it reached a segment of pipe with a lower diameter, its speed increased.
Using the said observations, in 1738, he first derived Bernoulli's equation.

Definition:
● The theorem effectively states that the total mechanical energy of a moving fluid,
which includes the kinetic energy of fluid motion, gravitational potential energy of
elevation, and energy associated with fluid pressure, remains constant.
● The basis for numerous engineering applications, Bernoulli's theorem is the notion of
energy conservation for perfect fluids in steady, or streamline, flow.
Formula and main factors:

1 2 1 2
𝑃1 + 2
ρ𝑣1 + ρ𝑔ℎ1 = 𝑃2 + 2
ρ𝑣2 + ρ𝑔ℎ2

where:
ρ = 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝑔 = 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝑃1 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1
𝑣1 = 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1
ℎ1 = ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1
𝑃2 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2
𝑣2 = 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2
ℎ2 = ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2

References:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Bernoullis-theorem#ref81274
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/physics/physics/bernoullis-principle#:~:text=In%20the%201730s%2C%
20he%20conducted,smaller%20diameter%2C%20its%20speed%20increased.

10. VENTURI

Short history
The 18th–19th-century Italian physicist Giovanni Battista Venturi, observing the effects of
constricted channels on fluid flow, designed an instrument with a narrow throat in the middle;
fluid passing through the tube speeds up as it enters the throat, and the pressure drops.

Definition
In its simplest form the Venturi Effect is perfectly illustrated with fluid flowing through a pipe
which then narrows. You might be mistaken for assuming that as the pipe narrows and the
fluid is forced through the narrow section there would be a buildup of pressure because of
the fluid behind pushing forward. This is where the Venturi Effect comes into play because
while the water is forced through the narrow section of pipe it increases in velocity and there
is a reduction in pressure. Once the pipe opens up again to the original size the fluid reduces
in velocity and the pressure returns to the previous level.

Formula and main factors

𝑝1 − 𝑝2 =
ρ
2 (𝑣
2
2
− 𝑣1 )
2

Where,

● ρ1 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒

● ρ2 = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒
● ρ = 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒
 ● 𝑣2 = 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2
● 𝑣1 = 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1

References:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/venturi-tube
https://www.engineeringclicks.com/the-venturi-effect-explained/

11. Fick’s Law

Short history:
Physiologist Adolf Fick originally published his now-famous principles governing the
movement of mass by diffusive means in 1855. The earlier experiments of Thomas Graham,
which stopped short of presenting the fundamental laws for which Fick would become
famous, served as an inspiration for Fick's work.

Definition:
According to Fick's law, the rate of a substance's diffusion across a unit area (like a surface
or membrane) is proportional to the concentration gradient.

Formula and main factors:

References:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/ficks-law
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretic
al_Chemistry)/Kinetics/09%3A_Diffusion#:~:text=Fick's%20First%20Law%20of%20Diffusion,-Fick's%20first%20law&text=J%20is%20the%20flux
%20and,%E2%80%8B%2D2%20s%2D1.&text=c%20is%20the%20concentration%20of,with%20units%20molecules%20m%2D3.
https://physiology.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/psio472_15_4.pdf
12. Laplace’s Equation

Short history:
Laplace’s equation, a second-order partial differential equation widely useful in physics
because its solutions R (known as harmonic functions) occur in problems of electrical,
magnetic, and gravitational potentials, of steady-state temperatures, and of hydrodynamics.
The equation was discovered by the French mathematician and astronomer Pierre-Simon
Laplace (1749–1827).

Definition:
A useful approach to the determination of the electric potentials in free space or region. In
general, Laplace’s equation describes situations of equilibrium, or those that do not depend
explicitly on time.

Formula and main factors:

where,
Similarly, Laplace’s equation could be written as

References:
https://www.britannica.com/science/Laplaces-equation
 APPENDIX
1. Boyle’s Law
2. Charles’s Law
3. Guy-Lussac’s Law
4. Avogadro’s Hypothesis and the Ideal Gas Equation