12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Gas
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thisarticleisaboutthephysicalpropertiesofgasasastateofmatter.Fortheautomotivefuel,see
gasoline.Fortheusesofgases,andothermeanings,seeGas(disambiguation).
Gasisoneofthefourfundamentalstatesofmatter(theothersbeing
solid,liquid,andplasma).Apuregasmaybemadeupofindividual
atoms(e.g.anoblegaslikeneon),elementalmoleculesmadefrom
onetypeofatom(e.g.oxygen),orcompoundmoleculesmadefrom
avarietyofatoms(e.g.carbondioxide).Agasmixturewould
containavarietyofpuregasesmuchliketheair.Whatdistinguishes
agasfromliquidsandsolidsisthevastseparationoftheindividual
gasparticles.Thisseparationusuallymakesacolorlessgasinvisible
tothehumanobserver.Theinteractionofgasparticlesinthe
presenceofelectricandgravitationalfieldsareconsidered
negligibleasindicatedbytheconstantvelocityvectorsintheimage.
Onetypeofcommonlyknowngasissteam.

Gasphaseparticles(atoms,
molecules,orions)movearound
freelyintheabsenceofanapplied
electricfield.

Thegaseousstateofmatterisfoundbetweentheliquidandplasma
states,[1]thelatterofwhichprovidestheuppertemperatureboundaryforgases.Boundingthelowerendof
thetemperaturescaleliedegenerativequantumgases[2]whicharegainingincreasingattention.[3]High
densityatomicgasessupercooledtoincrediblylowtemperaturesareclassifiedbytheirstatisticalbehavior
aseitheraBosegasoraFermigas.Foracomprehensivelistingoftheseexoticstatesofmatterseelistof
statesofmatter.

Contents
1 Elementalgases
2 Etymology
3 Physicalcharacteristics
4 Macroscopic
4.1 Pressure
4.2 Temperature
4.3 Specificvolume
4.4 Density
5 Microscopic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

1/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

5.1 Kinetictheory
5.2 Brownianmotion
5.3 Intermolecularforces
6 Simplifiedmodels
6.1 Idealandperfectgasmodels
6.2 Realgas
7 Historicalsynthesis
7.1 Boyle'slaw
7.2 Charles'sLaw
7.3 GayLussac'sLaw
7.4 Avogadro'slaw
7.5 Dalton'slaw
8 Specialtopics
8.1 Compressibility
8.2 Reynoldsnumber
8.3 Viscosity
8.4 Turbulence
8.5 Boundarylayer
8.6 Maximumentropyprinciple
8.7 Thermodynamicequilibrium
9 Seealso
10 Notes
11 References
12 Furtherreading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

2/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Elementalgases
Theonlychemicalelementswhicharestablemultiatomhomonuclearmoleculesatstandardtemperature
andpressure(STP),arehydrogen(H2),nitrogen(N2)andoxygen(O2)plustwohalogens,fluorine(F2)and
chlorine(Cl2).Thesegases,whengroupedtogetherwiththemonatomicnoblegaseswhicharehelium
(He),neon(Ne),argon(Ar),krypton(Kr),xenon(Xe)andradon(Rn)arecalled"elementalgases".
Alternativelytheyaresometimesknownas"moleculargases"todistinguishthemfrommoleculesthatare
alsochemicalcompounds.

Etymology
Thewordgasisaneologismfirstusedbytheearly17thcenturyFlemishchemistJ.B.vanHelmont.[4]Van
Helmont'swordappearstohavebeensimplyaphonetictranscriptionoftheGreekwordChaostheg
inDutchbeingpronouncedlikechin"loch"inwhichcaseVanHelmontwassimplyfollowingthe
establishedalchemicalusagefirstattestedintheworksofParacelsus.AccordingtoParacelsus's
terminology,chaosmeantsomethinglike"ultrararefiedwater".[5]
Analternativestory[6]isthatVanHelmont'swordiscorruptedfromgahst(orgeist),signifyingaghostor
spirit.Thiswasbecausecertaingasessuggestedasupernaturalorigin,suchasfromtheirabilitytocause
death,extinguishflames,andtooccurin"mines,bottomofwells,churchyardsandotherlonelyplaces".

Physicalcharacteristics
Becausemostgasesaredifficulttoobservedirectly,theyare
describedthroughtheuseoffourphysicalpropertiesor
macroscopiccharacteristics:pressure,volume,numberof
particles(chemistsgroupthembymoles)andtemperature.These
fourcharacteristicswererepeatedlyobservedbyscientistssuch
asRobertBoyle,JacquesCharles,JohnDalton,JosephGay
LussacandAmedeoAvogadroforavarietyofgasesinvarious
settings.Theirdetailedstudiesultimatelyledtoamathematical
relationshipamongthesepropertiesexpressedbytheidealgas
law(seesimplifiedmodelssectionbelow).
Driftingsmokeparticlesprovidecluesto

Gasparticlesarewidelyseparatedfromoneanother,and
themovementofthesurroundinggas.
consequentlyhaveweakerintermolecularbondsthanliquidsor
solids.Theseintermolecularforcesresultfromelectrostatic
interactionsbetweengasparticles.Likechargedareasofdifferentgasparticlesrepel,whileoppositely
chargedregionsofdifferentgasparticlesattractoneanothergasesthatcontainpermanentlychargedions
areknownasplasmas.Gaseouscompoundswithpolarcovalentbondscontainpermanentcharge
imbalancesandsoexperiencerelativelystrongintermolecularforces,althoughthemoleculewhilethe
compound'snetchargeremainsneutral.Transient,randomlyinducedchargesexistacrossnonpolar
covalentbondsofmoleculesandelectrostaticinteractionscausedbythemarereferredtoasVanderWaals
forces.Theinteractionoftheseintermolecularforcesvarieswithinasubstancewhichdeterminesmanyof
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

3/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

thephysicalpropertiesuniquetoeachgas.[7][8]Acomparisonofboilingpointsforcompoundsformedby
ionicandcovalentbondsleadsustothisconclusion.[9]Thedriftingsmokeparticlesintheimageprovides
someinsightintolowpressuregasbehavior.
Comparedtotheotherstatesofmatter,gaseshavelowdensityandviscosity.Pressureandtemperature
influencetheparticleswithinacertainvolume.Thisvariationinparticleseparationandspeedisreferredto
ascompressibility.Thisparticleseparationandsizeinfluencesopticalpropertiesofgasesascanbefoundin
thefollowinglistofrefractiveindices.Finally,gasparticlesspreadapartordiffuseinorderto
homogeneouslydistributethemselvesthroughoutanycontainer.

Macroscopic
Whenobservingagas,itistypicaltospecifyaframeofreferenceor
lengthscale.Alargerlengthscalecorrespondstoamacroscopicor
globalpointofviewofthegas.Thisregion(referredtoasavolume)
mustbesufficientinsizetocontainalargesamplingofgas
particles.Theresultingstatisticalanalysisofthissamplesize
producesthe"average"behavior(i.e.velocity,temperatureor
pressure)ofallthegasparticleswithintheregion.Incontrast,a
smallerlengthscalecorrespondstoamicroscopicorparticlepoint
ofview.
Shuttleimageryofreentryphase.
Macroscopically,thegascharacteristicsmeasuredareeitherinterms
ofthegasparticlesthemselves(velocity,pressure,ortemperature)
ortheirsurroundings(volume).Forexample,RobertBoylestudiedpneumaticchemistryforasmallportion
ofhiscareer.Oneofhisexperimentsrelatedthemacroscopicpropertiesofpressureandvolumeofagas.
HisexperimentusedaJtubemanometerwhichlookslikeatesttubeintheshapeoftheletterJ.Boyle
trappedaninertgasintheclosedendofthetesttubewithacolumnofmercury,therebymakingthenumber
ofparticlesandthetemperatureconstant.Heobservedthatwhenthepressurewasincreasedinthegas,by
addingmoremercurytothecolumn,thetrappedgas'volumedecreased(thisisknownasaninverse
relationship).Furthermore,whenBoylemultipliedthepressureandvolumeofeachobservation,the
productwasconstant.ThisrelationshipheldforeverygasthatBoyleobservedleadingtothelaw,(PV=k),
namedtohonorhisworkinthisfield.

Therearemanymathematicaltoolsavailableforanalyzinggasproperties.Asgasesaresubjectedto
extremeconditions,thesetoolsbecomeabitmorecomplex,fromtheEulerequationsforinviscidflowto
theNavierStokesequations[10]thatfullyaccountforviscouseffects.Theseequationsareadaptedtothe
conditionsofthegassysteminquestion.Boyle'slabequipmentallowedtheuseofalgebratoobtainhis
analyticalresults.Hisresultswerepossiblebecausehewasstudyinggasesinrelativelylowpressure
situationswheretheybehavedinan"ideal"manner.Theseidealrelationshipsapplytosafetycalculations
foravarietyofflightconditionsonthematerialsinuse.Thehightechnologyequipmentinusetodaywas
designedtohelpussafelyexplorethemoreexoticoperatingenvironmentswherethegasesnolonger
behaveinan"ideal"manner.Thisadvancedmath,includingstatisticsandmultivariablecalculus,makes
possiblethesolutiontosuchcomplexdynamicsituationsasspacevehiclereentry.Anexampleisthe
analysisofthespaceshuttlereentrypicturedtoensurethematerialpropertiesunderthisloadingcondition
areappropriate.Inthisflightregime,thegasisnolongerbehavingideally.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

4/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Pressure
Mainarticle:Pressure
Thesymbolusedtorepresentpressureinequationsis"p"or"P"withSIunitsofpascals.
Whendescribingacontainerofgas,thetermpressure(orabsolutepressure)referstotheaverageforceper
unitareathatthegasexertsonthesurfaceofthecontainer.Withinthisvolume,itissometimeseasierto
visualizethegasparticlesmovinginstraightlinesuntiltheycollidewiththecontainer(seediagramattop
ofthearticle).Theforceimpartedbyagasparticleintothecontainerduringthiscollisionisthechangein
momentumoftheparticle.[11]Duringacollisiononlythenormalcomponentofvelocitychanges.Aparticle
travelingparalleltothewalldoesnotchangeitsmomentum.Therefore,theaverageforceonasurfacemust
betheaveragechangeinlinearmomentumfromallofthesegasparticlecollisions.
Pressureisthesumofallthenormalcomponentsofforceexertedbytheparticlesimpactingthewallsofthe
containerdividedbythesurfaceareaofthewall.

Temperature
Mainarticle:Thermodynamictemperature
ThesymbolusedtorepresenttemperatureinequationsisTwithSI
unitsofkelvins.
Thespeedofagasparticleisproportionaltoitsabsolute
temperature.Thevolumeoftheballooninthevideoshrinkswhen
thetrappedgasparticlesslowdownwiththeadditionofextremely
coldnitrogen.Thetemperatureofanyphysicalsystemisrelatedto
themotionsoftheparticles(moleculesandatoms)whichmakeup
Airballoonshrinksaftersubmersion
the[gas]system.[12]Instatisticalmechanics,temperatureisthe
inliquidnitrogen
measureoftheaveragekineticenergystoredinaparticle.The
methodsofstoringthisenergyaredictatedbythedegreesof
freedomoftheparticleitself(energymodes).Kineticenergyadded(endothermicprocess)togasparticles
bywayofcollisionsproduceslinear,rotational,andvibrationalmotion.Incontrast,amoleculeinasolid
canonlyincreaseitsvibrationalmodeswiththeadditionofheatasthelatticecrystalstructurepreventsboth
linearandrotationalmotions.Theseheatedgasmoleculeshaveagreaterspeedrangewhichconstantly
variesduetoconstantcollisionswithotherparticles.ThespeedrangecanbedescribedbytheMaxwell
Boltzmanndistribution.Useofthisdistributionimpliesidealgasesnearthermodynamicequilibriumforthe
systemofparticlesbeingconsidered.

Specificvolume
Mainarticle:Specificvolume
Thesymbolusedtorepresentspecificvolumeinequationsis"v"withSIunitsofcubicmetersper
kilogram.
Seealso:Gasvolume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

5/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thesymbolusedtorepresentvolumeinequationsis"V"withSIunitsofcubicmeters.
Whenperformingathermodynamicanalysis,itistypicaltospeakofintensiveandextensiveproperties.
Propertieswhichdependontheamountofgas(eitherbymassorvolume)arecalledextensiveproperties,
whilepropertiesthatdonotdependontheamountofgasarecalledintensiveproperties.Specificvolumeis
anexampleofanintensivepropertybecauseitistheratioofvolumeoccupiedbyaunitofmassofagas
thatisidenticalthroughoutasystematequilibrium.[13]1000atomsagasoccupythesamespaceasany
other1000atomsforanygiventemperatureandpressure.Thisconceptiseasiertovisualizeforsolidssuch
asironwhichareincompressiblecomparedtogases.Sinceagasfillsanycontainerinwhichitisplaced,
volumeisanextensiveproperty.

Density
Mainarticle:Density
Thesymbolusedtorepresentdensityinequationsis(rho)withSIunitsofkilogramspercubicmeter.
Thistermisthereciprocalofspecificvolume.
Sincegasmoleculescanmovefreelywithinacontainer,theirmassisnormallycharacterizedbydensity.
Densityistheamountofmassperunitvolumeofasubstance,ortheinverseofspecificvolume.Forgases,
thedensitycanvaryoverawiderangebecausetheparticlesarefreetomoveclosertogetherwhen
constrainedbypressureorvolume.Thisvariationofdensityisreferredtoascompressibility.Likepressure
andtemperature,densityisastatevariableofagasandthechangeindensityduringanyprocessis
governedbythelawsofthermodynamics.Forastaticgas,thedensityisthesamethroughouttheentire
container.Densityisthereforeascalarquantity.Itcanbeshownbykinetictheorythatthedensityis
inverselyproportionaltothesizeofthecontainerinwhichafixedmassofgasisconfined.Inthiscaseofa
fixedmass,thedensitydecreasesasthevolumeincreases.

Microscopic
Ifonecouldobserveagasunderapowerfulmicroscope,onewouldseeacollectionofparticles(molecules,
atoms,ions,electrons,etc.)withoutanydefiniteshapeorvolumethatareinmoreorlessrandommotion.
Theseneutralgasparticlesonlychangedirectionwhentheycollidewithanotherparticleorwiththesides
ofthecontainer.Inanidealgas,thesecollisionsareperfectlyelastic.Thisparticleormicroscopicviewofa
gasisdescribedbytheKineticmoleculartheory.Theassumptionsbehindthistheorycanbefoundinthe
postulatessectionofKineticTheory.

Kinetictheory
Mainarticle:Kinetictheory
Kinetictheoryprovidesinsightintothemacroscopicpropertiesofgasesbyconsideringtheirmolecular
compositionandmotion.Startingwiththedefinitionsofmomentumandkineticenergy,[14]onecanusethe
conservationofmomentumandgeometricrelationshipsofacubetorelatemacroscopicsystemproperties
oftemperatureandpressuretothemicroscopicpropertyofkineticenergypermolecule.Thetheory
providesaveragedvaluesforthesetwoproperties.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

6/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thetheoryalsoexplainshowthegassystemrespondstochange.Forexample,asagasisheatedfrom
absolutezero,whenitis(intheory)perfectlystill,itsinternalenergy(temperature)isincreased.Asagasis
heated,theparticlesspeedupanditstemperaturerises.Thisresultsingreaternumbersofcollisionswiththe
containerperunittimeduetothehigherparticlespeedsassociatedwithelevatedtemperatures.Thepressure
increasesinproportiontothenumberofcollisionsperunittime.

Brownianmotion
Mainarticle:Brownianmotion
Brownianmotionisthemathematicalmodelusedtodescribethe
randommovementofparticlessuspendedinafluid.Thegasparticle
animation,usingpinkandgreenparticles,illustrateshowthis
behaviorresultsinthespreadingoutofgases(entropy).These
eventsarealsodescribedbyparticletheory.
Sinceitisatthelimitof(orbeyond)currenttechnologytoobserve
individualgasparticles(atomsormolecules),onlytheoretical
calculationsgivesuggestionsabouthowtheymove,buttheirmotion
isdifferentfromBrownianmotionbecauseBrownianmotion
Randommotionofgasparticles
involvesasmoothdragduetothefrictionalforceofmanygas
resultsindiffusion.
molecules,punctuatedbyviolentcollisionsofanindividual(or
several)gasmolecule(s)withtheparticle.Theparticle(generally
consistingofmillionsorbillionsofatoms)thusmovesinajaggedcourse,yetnotsojaggedaswouldbe
expectedifanindividualgasmoleculewereexamined.

Intermolecularforces
Mainarticles:vanderWaalsforceandIntermolecularforce
Asdiscussedearlier,momentaryattractions(orrepulsions)between
particleshaveaneffectongasdynamics.Inphysicalchemistry,thename
giventotheseintermolecularforcesisvanderWaalsforce.Theseforces
playakeyroleindeterminingphysicalpropertiesofagassuchas
viscosityandflowrate(seephysicalcharacteristicssection).Ignoring
theseforcesincertainconditions(seeKineticmoleculartheory)allowsa
realgastobetreatedlikeanidealgas.Thisassumptionallowstheuseof
idealgaslawswhichgreatlysimplifiescalculations.
Whengasesarecompressed,
intermolecularforceslike
thoseshownherestarttoplay
amoreactiverole.

ProperuseofthesegasrelationshipsrequirestheKineticmoleculartheory
(KMT).WhengasparticlespossessamagneticchargeorIntermolecular
forcetheygraduallyinfluenceoneanotherasthespacingbetweenthemis
reduced(thehydrogenbondmodelillustratesoneexample).Intheabsence
ofanycharge,atsomepointwhenthespacingbetweengasparticlesis
greatlyreducedtheycannolongeravoidcollisionsbetweenthemselvesatnormalgastemperatures.
Anothercaseforincreasedcollisionsamonggasparticleswouldincludeafixedvolumeofgas,whichupon
heatingwouldcontainveryfastparticles.Thismeansthattheseidealequationsprovidereasonableresults
exceptforextremelyhighpressure(compressible)orhightemperature(ionized)conditions.Noticethatall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

7/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

oftheseexceptedconditionsallowenergytransfertotakeplacewithinthegassystem.Theabsenceofthese
internaltransfersiswhatisreferredtoasidealconditionsinwhichtheenergyexchangeoccursonlyatthe
boundariesofthesystem.Realgasesexperiencesomeofthesecollisionsandintermolecularforces.When
thesecollisionsarestatisticallynegligible(incompressible),resultsfromtheseidealequationsarestill
meaningful.Ifthegasparticlesarecompressedintocloseproximitytheybehavemorelikealiquid(see
fluiddynamics).

Simplifiedmodels
Mainarticle:Equationofstate
Anequationofstate(forgases)isamathematicalmodelusedtoroughlydescribeorpredictthestate
propertiesofagas.Atpresent,thereisnosingleequationofstatethataccuratelypredictsthepropertiesof
allgasesunderallconditions.Therefore,anumberofmuchmoreaccurateequationsofstatehavebeen
developedforgasesinspecifictemperatureandpressureranges.The"gasmodels"thataremostwidely
discussedare"perfectgas","idealgas"and"realgas".Eachofthesemodelshasitsownsetofassumptions
tofacilitatetheanalysisofagiventhermodynamicsystem.[15]Eachsuccessivemodelexpandsthe
temperaturerangeofcoveragetowhichitapplies.

Idealandperfectgasmodels
Mainarticle:Perfectgas
Theequationofstateforanidealorperfectgasistheidealgaslawandreads

wherePisthepressure,Visthevolume,nisamountofgas(inmolunits),Ristheuniversalgasconstant,
8.314J/(molK),andTisthetemperature.Writtenthisway,itissometimescalledthe"chemist'sversion",
sinceitemphasizesthenumberofmoleculesn.Itcanalsobewrittenas

where isthespecificgasconstantforaparticulargas,inunitsJ/(kgK),and=m/Visdensity.This
notationisthe"gasdynamicist's"version,whichismorepracticalinmodelingofgasflowsinvolving
accelerationwithoutchemicalreactions.
Theidealgaslawdoesnotmakeanassumptionaboutthespecificheatofagas.Inthemostgeneralcase,
thespecificheatisafunctionofbothtemperatureandpressure.Ifthepressuredependenceisneglected
(andpossiblythetemperaturedependenceaswell)inaparticularapplication,sometimesthegasissaidto
beaperfectgas,althoughtheexactassumptionsmayvarydependingontheauthorand/orfieldofscience.
Foranidealgas,theidealgaslawapplieswithoutrestrictionsonthespecificheat.Anidealgasisa
simplified"realgas"withtheassumptionthatthecompressibilityfactorZissetto1meaningthatthis
pneumaticratioremainsconstant.Acompressibilityfactorofonealsorequiresthefourstatevariablesto
followtheidealgaslaw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

8/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thisapproximationismoresuitableforapplicationsinengineeringalthoughsimplermodelscanbeusedto
producea"ballpark"rangeastowheretherealsolutionshouldlie.Anexamplewherethe"idealgas
approximation"wouldbesuitablewouldbeinsideacombustionchamberofajetengine.[16]Itmayalsobe
usefultokeeptheelementaryreactionsandchemicaldissociationsforcalculatingemissions.

Realgas
Mainarticle:Realgas
Eachoneoftheassumptionslistedbelowaddstothecomplexityof
theproblem'ssolution.Asthedensityofagasincreaseswithrising
pressure,theintermolecularforcesplayamoresubstantialrolein
gasbehaviorwhichresultsintheidealgaslawnolongerproviding
"reasonable"results.Attheupperendoftheenginetemperature
ranges(e.g.combustorsections1300K),thecomplexfuel
particlesabsorbinternalenergybymeansofrotationsandvibrations
21April1990eruptionofMount
thatcausetheirspecificheatstovaryfromthoseofdiatomic
Redoubt,Alaska,illustratingreal
moleculesandnoblegases.Atmorethandoublethattemperature,
gasesnotinthermodynamic
electronicexcitationanddissociationofthegasparticlesbeginsto
equilibrium.
occurcausingthepressuretoadjusttoagreaternumberofparticles
(transitionfromgastoplasma).[17]Finally,allofthethermodynamic
processeswerepresumedtodescribeuniformgaseswhosevelocitiesvariedaccordingtoafixed
distribution.Usinganonequilibriumsituationimpliestheflowfieldmustbecharacterizedinsomemanner
toenableasolution.Oneofthefirstattemptstoexpandtheboundariesoftheidealgaslawwastoinclude
coveragefordifferentthermodynamicprocessesbyadjustingtheequationtoreadpVn=constantandthen
varyingthenthroughdifferentvaluessuchasthespecificheatratio,.
Realgaseffectsincludethoseadjustmentsmadetoaccountforagreaterrangeofgasbehavior:
Compressibilityeffects(Zallowedtovaryfrom1.0)
Variableheatcapacity(specificheatsvarywithtemperature)
VanderWaalsforces(relatedtocompressibility,cansubstituteotherequationsofstate)
Nonequilibriumthermodynamiceffects
Issueswithmoleculardissociationandelementaryreactionswithvariablecomposition.
Formostapplications,suchadetailedanalysisisexcessive.Exampleswhere"RealGaseffects"wouldhave
asignificantimpactwouldbeontheSpaceShuttlereentrywhereextremelyhightemperaturesand
pressuresarepresentorthegasesproducedduringgeologicaleventsasintheimageofthe1990eruptionof
MountRedoubt.

Historicalsynthesis
Seealso:Gaslaws

Boyle'slaw
Mainarticle:Boyle'slaw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

9/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Boyle'sLawwasperhapsthefirstexpressionofanequationofstate.In1662RobertBoyleperformeda
seriesofexperimentsemployingaJshapedglasstube,whichwas
sealedononeend.Mercurywasaddedtothetube,trappingafixed
quantityofairintheshort,sealedendofthetube.Thenthevolumeof
gaswascarefullymeasuredasadditionalmercurywasaddedtothe
tube.Thepressureofthegascouldbedeterminedbythedifference
betweenthemercurylevelintheshortendofthetubeandthatinthe
long,openend.TheimageofBoyle'sEquipmentshowssomeofthe
exotictoolsusedbyBoyleduringhisstudyofgases.
Throughtheseexperiments,Boylenotedthatthepressureexertedbya
gasheldataconstanttemperaturevariesinverselywiththevolumeof
thegas.[18]Forexample,ifthevolumeishalved,thepressureis
doubledandifthevolumeisdoubled,thepressureishalved.Giventhe
inverserelationshipbetweenpressureandvolume,theproductof
pressure(P)andvolume(V)isaconstant(k)foragivenmassof
confinedgasaslongasthetemperatureisconstant.Statedasaformula,
thusis:
Boyle'sequipment.

Becausethebeforeandaftervolumesandpressuresofthefixed
amountofgas,wherethebeforeandaftertemperaturesarethesamebothequaltheconstantk,theycanbe
relatedbytheequation:

Charles'sLaw
Mainarticle:Charles'slaw
In1787,theFrenchphysicistandballoonpioneer,JacquesCharles,foundthatoxygen,nitrogen,hydrogen,
carbondioxide,andairexpandtothesameextentoverthesame80kelvininterval.Henotedthat,foran
idealgasatconstantpressure,thevolumeisdirectlyproportionaltoitstemperature:

GayLussac'sLaw
Mainarticle:GayLussac'sLaw
In1802,JosephLouisGayLussacpublishedresultsofsimilar,thoughmoreextensiveexperiments.[19]
GayLussaccreditedCharle'searlierworkbynamingthelawinhishonor.GayLussachimselfiscredited
withthelawdescribingpressure,whichhefoundin1809.Itstatesthatthepressureexertedonacontainer's
sidesbyanidealgasisproportionaltoitstemperature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

10/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Avogadro'slaw
Mainarticle:Avogadro'slaw
In1811,AmedeoAvogadroverifiedthatequalvolumesofpuregasescontainthesamenumberofparticles.
Histheorywasnotgenerallyaccepteduntil1858whenanotherItalianchemistStanislaoCannizzarowas
abletoexplainnonidealexceptions.Forhisworkwithgasesacenturyprior,thenumberthatbearshis
nameAvogadro'sconstantrepresentsthenumberofatomsfoundin12gramsofelementalcarbon12
(6.0221023mol1).Thisspecificnumberofgasparticles,atstandardtemperatureandpressure(idealgas
law)occupies22.40liters,whichisreferredtoasthemolarvolume.
Avogadro'slawstatesthatthevolumeoccupiedbyanidealgasisproportionaltothenumberofmoles(or
molecules)presentinthecontainer.Thisgivesrisetothemolarvolumeofagas,whichatSTPis22.4dm3
(orlitres).Therelationisgivenby

wherenisequaltothenumberofmolesofgas(thenumberofmoleculesdividedbyAvogadro'sNumber).

Dalton'slaw
Mainarticle:Dalton'slaw
In1801,JohnDaltonpublishedtheLawofPartialPressuresfrom
hisworkwithidealgaslawrelationship:Thepressureofamixture
ofnonreactivegasesisequaltothesumofthepressuresofallof
theconstituentgasesalone.Mathematically,thiscanberepresented
fornspeciesas:
Pressuretotal=Pressure1+Pressure2+...+Pressuren
TheimageofDalton'sjournaldepictssymbologyheusedas
shorthandtorecordthepathhefollowed.Amonghiskeyjournal
observationsuponmixingunreactive"elasticfluids"(gases)were
thefollowing:[20]

Dalton'snotation.

Unlikeliquids,heaviergasesdidnotdrifttothebottomuponmixing.
Gasparticleidentityplayednoroleindeterminingfinalpressure(theybehavedasiftheirsizewas
negligible).

Specialtopics
Compressibility
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

11/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Mainarticle:Compressibilityfactor
Thermodynamicistsusethisfactor(Z)toaltertheidealgasequation
toaccountforcompressibilityeffectsofrealgases.Thisfactor
representstheratioofactualtoidealspecificvolumes.Itis
sometimesreferredtoasa"fudgefactor"orcorrectiontoexpandthe
usefulrangeoftheidealgaslawfordesignpurposes.UsuallythisZ
valueisveryclosetounity.Thecompressibilityfactorimage
illustrateshowZvariesoverarangeofverycoldtemperatures.

Compressibilityfactorsforair.

Reynoldsnumber
Mainarticle:Reynoldsnumber
Influidmechanics,theReynoldsnumberistheratioofinertialforces(vs)toviscousforces(/L).Itisone
ofthemostimportantdimensionlessnumbersinfluiddynamicsandisused,usuallyalongwithother
dimensionlessnumbers,toprovideacriterionfordeterminingdynamicsimilitude.Assuch,theReynolds
numberprovidesthelinkbetweenmodelingresults(design)andthefullscaleactualconditions.Itcanalso
beusedtocharacterizetheflow.

Viscosity
Mainarticle:Viscosity
Viscosity,aphysicalproperty,isameasureofhowwelladjacentmoleculessticktooneanother.Asolid
canwithstandashearingforceduetothestrengthofthesestickyintermolecularforces.Afluidwill
continuouslydeformwhensubjectedtoasimilarload.Whileagashasalowervalueofviscositythana
liquid,itisstillanobservableproperty.Ifgaseshadnoviscosity,thentheywouldnotsticktothesurfaceof
awingandformaboundarylayer.AstudyofthedeltawingintheSchlierenimagerevealsthatthegas
particlessticktooneanother(seeBoundarylayersection).

Turbulence
Mainarticle:Turbulence
Influiddynamics,turbulenceorturbulentflowisaflowregimecharacterizedbychaotic,stochastic
propertychanges.Thisincludeslowmomentumdiffusion,highmomentumconvection,andrapidvariation
ofpressureandvelocityinspaceandtime.TheSatelliteviewofweatheraroundRobinsonCrusoeIslands
illustratesjustoneexample.

Boundarylayer
Mainarticle:Boundarylayer
Particleswill,ineffect,"stick"tothesurfaceofanobjectmovingthroughit.Thislayerofparticlesiscalled
theboundarylayer.Atthesurfaceoftheobject,itisessentiallystaticduetothefrictionofthesurface.
Theobject,withitsboundarylayeriseffectivelythenewshapeoftheobjectthattherestofthemolecules
"see"astheobjectapproaches.Thisboundarylayercanseparatefromthesurface,essentiallycreatinga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

12/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

newsurfaceandcompletelychangingtheflowpath.Theclassical
exampleofthisisastallingairfoil.Thedeltawingimageclearly
showstheboundarylayerthickeningasthegasflowsfromrightto
leftalongtheleadingedge.

Maximumentropyprinciple
Mainarticle:Principleofmaximumentropy
Asthetotalnumberofdegreesoffreedomapproachesinfinity,the
systemwillbefoundinthemacrostatethatcorrespondstothe
highestmultiplicity.Inordertoillustratethisprinciple,observethe
skintemperatureofafrozenmetalbar.Usingathermalimageofthe
skintemperature,notethetemperaturedistributiononthesurface.
Thisinitialobservationoftemperaturerepresentsa"microstate."At
somefuturetime,asecondobservationoftheskintemperature
producesasecondmicrostate.Bycontinuingthisobservation
process,itispossibletoproduceaseriesofmicrostatesthat
illustratethethermalhistoryofthebar'ssurface.Characterizationof
thishistoricalseriesofmicrostatesispossiblebychoosingthe
macrostatethatsuccessfullyclassifiesthemallintoasingle
grouping.

Thermodynamicequilibrium
Mainarticle:Thermodynamicequilibrium

Satelliteviewofweatherpatternin
vicinityofRobinsonCrusoeIslands
on15September1999,showsa
uniqueturbulentcloudpatterncalled
aKrmnvortexstreet

Whenenergytransferceasesfromasystem,thisconditionis
referredtoasthermodynamicequilibrium.Usuallythiscondition
impliesthesystemandsurroundingsareatthesametemperatureso
thatheatnolongertransfersbetweenthem.Italsoimpliesthat
externalforcesarebalanced(volumedoesnotchange),andall
chemicalreactionswithinthesystemarecomplete.Thetimeline
variesfortheseeventsdependingonthesysteminquestion.A
containeroficeallowedtomeltatroomtemperaturetakeshours,
whileinsemiconductorstheheattransferthatoccursinthedevice
transitionfromanontooffstatecouldbeontheorderofafew
nanoseconds.

Seealso
Quasisolid
Greenhousegas
Naturalgas
Volcanicgas
Breathing
Wind
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

Deltawinginwindtunnel.The
shadowsformastheindicesof
refractionchangewithinthegasasit
compressesontheleadingedgeof
thiswing.
13/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Notes
1. Thisearly20thcenturydiscussioninferswhatisregardedastheplasmastate.Seepage137ofAmerican
ChemicalSociety,FaradaySociety,ChemicalSociety(GreatBritain)TheJournalofphysicalchemistry,Volume
11Cornell(1907).
2. TheworkbyT.ZelevinskiprovidesanotherlinktolatestresearchaboutStrontiuminthisnewfieldofstudy.See
TanyaZelevinsky(2009)."84SrjustrightforformingaBoseEinsteincondensate".Physics2:94.
Bibcode:2009PhyOJ...2...94Z.doi:10.1103/physics.2.94.
3. forlinksmaterialontheBoseEinsteincondensateseeQuantumGasMicroscopeOffersGlimpseOfQuirky
UltracoldAtoms(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104140812.htm).ScienceDaily.4November
2009.
4. J.B.vanHelmont,Ortusmedicinae.(Amsterdam,(Netherlands):LouisElzevir,1652(firstedition:1648)).
Theword"gas"firstappearsonpage58(http://books.google.com/books?
id=c41nbl8iwrEC&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false),wherehementions:"Gas(meumscil.inventum)"
(gas(namely,mydiscovery)).Onpage59(http://books.google.com/books?
id=c41nbl8iwrEC&pg=PA59#v=onepage&q&f=false),hestates:"innominisegestate,halitumillum,Gas
vocavi,nonlongeaChao"(inneedofaname,Icalledthisvapor"gas",notfarfrom"chaos")
5. Harper,Douglas."gas".OnlineEtymologyDictionary.
6. Draper,JohnWilliam(1861).Atextbookonchemistry.NewYork:HarperandSons.p.178.
7. Theauthorsmaketheconnectionbetweenmolecularforcesofmetalsandtheircorrespondingphysicalproperties.
Byextension,thisconceptwouldapplytogasesaswell,thoughnotuniversally.Cornell(1907)pp.1645.
8. Onenoticeableexceptiontothisphysicalpropertyconnectionisconductivitywhichvariesdependingonthestate
ofmatter(ioniccompoundsinwater)asdescribedbyMichaelFaradayinthe1833whenhenotedthaticedoes
notconductacurrent.Seepage45ofJohnTyndall'sFaradayasaDiscoverer(1868).
9. JohnS.Hutchinson(2008).ConceptDevelopmentStudiesinChemistry.p.67.
10. Anderson,p.501
11. J.ClerkMaxwell(1904).TheoryofHeat.Mineola:DoverPublications.pp.31920.ISBN0486417352.
12. Seepages1378ofSociety,Cornell(1907).
13. KennethWark(1977).Thermodynamics(3ed.).McGrawHill.p.12.ISBN0070682801.
14. ForassumptionsofKineticTheoryseeMcPherson,pp.6061
15. Anderson,pp.289291
16. John,p.205
17. John,pp.24756
18. McPherson,pp.5255
19. McPherson,pp.5560
20. JohnP.Millington(1906).JohnDalton.pp.72,7778.

References
Anderson,JohnD.(1984).FundamentalsofAerodynamics.McGrawHillHigherEducation.ISBN0
070016569.
John,James(1984).GasDynamics.AllynandBacon.ISBN0205080146.
McPherson,WilliamandHenderson,William(1917).AnElementarystudyofchemistry.

Furtherreading
PhilipHillandCarlPeterson.Mechanicsand
ThermodynamicsofPropulsion:SecondEditionAddison
Wesley,1992.ISBN0201146592
NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoGases.

14/15

12/11/2015

GasWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

AnimatedGasLab(http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/airplane/Animation/frglab.html).
AccessedFebruary2008.
GeorgiaStateUniversity.HyperPhysics(http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html).
AccessedFebruary2008.
AntonyLewisWordWeb(http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/GASEOUSSTATE).Accessed
February2008.
NorthwesternMichiganCollegeTheGaseousState(http://www.nmc.edu/~bberthelsen/c9n03.htm).
AccessedFebruary2008.
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gas&oldid=687921337"
Categories: Gases Phasesofmatter
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon28October2015,at13:42.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

15/15