The ideal gas law, also called the general gas equation, is the
equation of state
In physics, chemistry, and thermodynamics, an equation of state is a thermodynamic equation relating state variables, which describe the state of matter under a given set of physical conditions, such as pressure, volume, temperature, or inter ...
of a hypothetical
ideal gas
An ideal gas is a theoretical gas composed of many randomly moving point particles that are not subject to interparticle interactions. The ideal gas concept is useful because it obeys the ideal gas law, a simplified equation of state, and is am ...
. It is a good approximation of the behavior of many
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), o ...
es under many conditions, although it has several limitations. It was first stated by
Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron in 1834 as a combination of the empirical
Boyle's law
Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law, or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an experimental gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as:
The ...
,
Charles's law
Charles's law (also known as the law of volumes) is an experimental gas law that describes how gases tend to expand when heated. A modern statement of Charles's law is:
When the pressure on a sample of a dry gas is held constant, the Kelvin ...
,
Avogadro's law, and
Gay-Lussac's law
Gay-Lussac's law usually refers to Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac's law of combining volumes of gases, discovered in 1808 and published in 1809. It sometimes refers to the proportionality of the volume of a gas to its absolute temperature at constant p ...
. The ideal gas law is often written in an empirical form:
where
,
and
are the
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and ...
,
volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The ...
and
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
;
is the
amount of substance
In chemistry, the amount of substance ''n'' in a given sample of matter is defined as the quantity or number of discrete atomic-scale particles in it divided by the Avogadro constant ''N''A. The particles or entities may be molecules, atoms, ions ...
; and
is the
ideal gas constant.
It can also be derived from the microscopic
kinetic theory, as was achieved (apparently independently) by
August Krönig in 1856 and
Rudolf Clausius in 1857.
Equation

The
state of an amount of
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), o ...
is determined by its pressure, volume, and temperature. The modern form of the equation relates these simply in two main forms. The temperature used in the equation of state is an absolute temperature: the appropriate
SI unit
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes Pleonasm#Acronyms and initialisms, pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most wid ...
is the
kelvin.
Common forms
The most frequently introduced forms are:
where:
*
is the absolute
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and ...
of the gas,
*
is the
volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The ...
of the gas,
*
is the
amount of substance
In chemistry, the amount of substance ''n'' in a given sample of matter is defined as the quantity or number of discrete atomic-scale particles in it divided by the Avogadro constant ''N''A. The particles or entities may be molecules, atoms, ions ...
of gas (also known as number of moles),
*
is the ideal, or universal,
gas constant, equal to the product of the
Boltzmann constant
The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas cons ...
and the
Avogadro constant
The Avogadro constant, commonly denoted or , is the proportionality factor that relates the number of constituent particles (usually molecules, atoms or ions) in a sample with the amount of substance in that sample. It is an SI defining c ...
,
*
is the
Boltzmann constant
The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas cons ...
,
* ''
'' is the
Avogadro constant
The Avogadro constant, commonly denoted or , is the proportionality factor that relates the number of constituent particles (usually molecules, atoms or ions) in a sample with the amount of substance in that sample. It is an SI defining c ...
,
*
is the
absolute temperature of the gas,
*
is the number of particles (usually atoms or molecules) of the gas.
In
SI units
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. E ...
, ''p'' is measured in
pascals, ''V'' is measured in
cubic metre
The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is ...
s, ''n'' is measured in
moles, and ''T'' in
kelvins (the
Kelvin scale is a shifted
Celsius scale, where 0.00 K = −273.15 °C, the
lowest possible temperature). ''R'' has for value 8.314
J/(
mol·
K) = 1.989 ≈ 2
cal/(mol·K), or 0.0821 L⋅
atm/(mol⋅K).
Molar form
How much gas is present could be specified by giving the mass instead of the chemical amount of gas. Therefore, an alternative form of the ideal gas law may be useful. The chemical amount, ''n'' (in moles), is equal to total mass of the gas (''m'') (in kilograms) divided by the
molar mass
In chemistry, the molar mass of a chemical compound is defined as the mass of a sample of that compound divided by the amount of substance which is the number of moles in that sample, measured in moles. The molar mass is a bulk, not molecul ...
, ''M'' (in kilograms per mole):
:
By replacing ''n'' with ''m''/''M'' and subsequently introducing
density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematica ...
''ρ'' = ''m''/''V'', we get:
:
:
:
Defining the
specific gas constant
The molar gas constant (also known as the gas constant, universal gas constant, or ideal gas constant) is denoted by the symbol or . It is the molar equivalent to the Boltzmann constant, expressed in units of energy per temperature increment pe ...
''R''
specific(''r'') as the ratio ''R''/''M'',
:
This form of the ideal gas law is very useful because it links pressure, density, and temperature in a unique formula independent of the quantity of the considered gas. Alternatively, the law may be written in terms of the
specific volume
In thermodynamics, the specific volume of a substance (symbol: , nu) is an intrinsic property of the substance, defined as the ratio of the substance's volume () to its mass (). It is the reciprocal of density ( rho) and it is related to ...
''v'', the reciprocal of density, as
:
It is common, especially in engineering and meteorological applications, to represent the specific gas constant by the symbol ''R''. In such cases, the universal gas constant is usually given a different symbol such as
or
to distinguish it. In any case, the context and/or units of the gas constant should make it clear as to whether the universal or specific gas constant is being used.
Statistical mechanics
In
statistical mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic b ...
the following molecular equation is derived from first principles
:
where is the absolute
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and ...
of the gas, is the
number density
The number density (symbol: ''n'' or ''ρ''N) is an intensive quantity used to describe the degree of concentration of countable objects ( particles, molecules, phonons, cells, galaxies, etc.) in physical space: three-dimensional volumetric num ...
of the molecules (given by the ratio , in contrast to the previous formulation in which is the ''number of moles''), is the
absolute temperature, and is the
Boltzmann constant
The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas cons ...
relating temperature and energy, given by:
:
where is the
Avogadro constant
The Avogadro constant, commonly denoted or , is the proportionality factor that relates the number of constituent particles (usually molecules, atoms or ions) in a sample with the amount of substance in that sample. It is an SI defining c ...
.
From this we notice that for a gas of mass , with an average particle mass of times the
atomic mass constant, , (i.e., the mass is
u) the number of molecules will be given by
:
and since , we find that the ideal gas law can be rewritten as
:
In SI units, is measured in
pascals, in cubic metres, in kelvins, and in
SI unit
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes Pleonasm#Acronyms and initialisms, pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most wid ...
s.
Combined gas law
Combining the laws of Charles, Boyle and Gay-Lussac gives the combined gas law, which takes the same functional form as the ideal gas law says that the number of moles is unspecified, and the ratio of
to
is simply taken as a constant:
:
where
is the
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and ...
of the gas,
is the
volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The ...
of the gas,
is the
absolute temperature of the gas, and
is a constant. When comparing the same substance under two different sets of conditions, the law can be written as
:
Energy associated with a gas
According to the assumptions of the kinetic theory of ideal gases, one can consider that there are no intermolecular attractions between the molecules, or atoms, of an ideal gas. In other words, its
potential energy
In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors.
Common types of potential energy include the gravitational potent ...
is zero. Hence, all the energy possessed by the gas is the kinetic energy of the molecules, or atoms, of the gas.
:
This corresponds to the kinetic energy of ''n'' moles of a
monoatomic gas having 3
degrees of freedom
Degrees of freedom (often abbreviated df or DOF) refers to the number of independent variables or parameters of a thermodynamic system. In various scientific fields, the word "freedom" is used to describe the limits to which physical movement or ...
; ''x'', ''y'', ''z''. The table here below gives this relationship for different amounts of a monoatomic gas.
Applications to thermodynamic processes
The table below essentially simplifies the ideal gas equation for a particular processes, thus making this equation easier to solve using numerical methods.
A
thermodynamic process is defined as a system that moves from state 1 to state 2, where the state number is denoted by subscript. As shown in the first column of the table, basic thermodynamic processes are defined such that one of the gas properties (''P'', ''V'', ''T'', ''S'', or ''H'') is constant throughout the process.
For a given thermodynamics process, in order to specify the extent of a particular process, one of the properties ratios (which are listed under the column labeled "known ratio") must be specified (either directly or indirectly). Also, the property for which the ratio is known must be distinct from the property held constant in the previous column (otherwise the ratio would be unity, and not enough information would be available to simplify the gas law equation).
In the final three columns, the properties (''p'', ''V'', or ''T'') at state 2 can be calculated from the properties at state 1 using the equations listed.
a. In an isentropic process, system
entropy
Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodyna ...
(''S'') is constant. Under these conditions, ''p''
1''V''
1''γ'' = ''p''
2''V''
2''γ'', where ''γ'' is defined as the
heat capacity ratio
In thermal physics and thermodynamics, the heat capacity ratio, also known as the adiabatic index, the ratio of specific heats, or Laplace's coefficient, is the ratio of the heat capacity at constant pressure () to heat capacity at constant vol ...
, which is constant for a calorifically
perfect gas
In physics and engineering, a perfect gas is a theoretical gas model that differs from real gases in specific ways that makes certain calculations easier to handle. In all perfect gas models, intermolecular forces are neglected. This means that o ...
. The value used for ''γ'' is typically 1.4 for diatomic gases like
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at sevent ...
(N
2) and
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
(O
2), (and air, which is 99% diatomic). Also ''γ'' is typically 1.6 for mono atomic gases like the
noble gas
The noble gases (historically also the inert gases; sometimes referred to as aerogens) make up a class of chemical elements with similar properties; under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low ch ...
es
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table ...
(He), and
argon
Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as ...
(Ar). In internal combustion engines ''γ'' varies between 1.35 and 1.15, depending on constitution gases and temperature.
b. In an isenthalpic process, system
enthalpy (''H'') is constant. In the case of
free expansion for an ideal gas, there are no molecular interactions, and the temperature remains constant. For real gasses, the molecules do interact via attraction or repulsion depending on temperature and pressure, and heating or cooling does occur. This is known as the
Joule–Thomson effect
In thermodynamics, the Joule–Thomson effect (also known as the Joule–Kelvin effect or Kelvin–Joule effect) describes the temperature change of a ''real'' gas or liquid (as differentiated from an ideal gas) when it is forced through a val ...
. For reference, the Joule–Thomson coefficient μ
JT for air at room temperature and sea level is 0.22 °C/
bar.
Deviations from ideal behavior of real gases
The equation of state given here (''PV'' = ''nRT'') applies only to an ideal gas, or as an approximation to a real gas that behaves sufficiently like an ideal gas. There are in fact many different forms of the equation of state. Since the ideal gas law neglects both
molecular size and intermolecular attractions, it is most accurate for
monatomic
In physics and chemistry, "monatomic" is a combination of the words "mono" and "atomic", and means "single atom". It is usually applied to gases: a monatomic gas is a gas in which atoms are not bound to each other. Examples at standard condition ...
gases at high temperatures and low pressures. The neglect of molecular size becomes less important for lower densities, i.e. for larger volumes at lower pressures, because the average distance between adjacent molecules becomes much larger than the molecular size. The relative importance of intermolecular attractions diminishes with increasing
thermal kinetic energy, i.e., with increasing temperatures. More detailed ''
equations of state'', such as the
van der Waals equation
In chemistry and thermodynamics, the Van der Waals equation (or Van der Waals equation of state) is an equation of state which extends the ideal gas law to include the effects of interaction between molecules of a gas, as well as accounting ...
, account for deviations from ideality caused by molecular size and intermolecular forces.
Derivations
Empirical
The empirical laws that led to the derivation of the ideal gas law were discovered with experiments that changed only 2 state variables of the gas and kept every other one constant.
All the possible gas laws that could have been discovered with this kind of setup are:
*
Boyle's law
Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law, or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an experimental gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as:
The ...
()
*
Charles's law
Charles's law (also known as the law of volumes) is an experimental gas law that describes how gases tend to expand when heated. A modern statement of Charles's law is:
When the pressure on a sample of a dry gas is held constant, the Kelvin ...
()
*
Avogadro's law ()
*
Gay-Lussac's law
Gay-Lussac's law usually refers to Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac's law of combining volumes of gases, discovered in 1808 and published in 1809. It sometimes refers to the proportionality of the volume of a gas to its absolute temperature at constant p ...
()
*
*
where ''P'' stands for
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and ...
, ''V'' for
volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The ...
, ''N'' for number of particles in the gas and ''T'' for
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
; where
are constants in this context because of each equation requiring only the parameters explicitly noted in them changing.
To derive the ideal gas law one does not need to know all 6 formulas, one can just know 3 and with those derive the rest or just one more to be able to get the ideal gas law, which needs 4.
Since each formula only holds when only the state variables involved in said formula change while the others (which are a property of the gas but are not explicitly noted in said formula) remain constant, we cannot simply use algebra and directly combine them all. This is why: Boyle did his experiments while keeping ''N'' and ''T'' constant and this must be taken into account (in this same way, every experiment kept some parameter as constant and this must be taken into account for the derivation).
Keeping this in mind, to carry the derivation on correctly, one must imagine the
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), o ...
being altered by one process at a time (as it was done in the experiments). The derivation using 4 formulas can look like this:
at first the gas has parameters
Say, starting to change only pressure and volume, according to
Boyle's law
Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law, or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an experimental gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as:
The ...
(), then:
After this process, the gas has parameters
Using then equation () to change the number of particles in the gas and the temperature,
After this process, the gas has parameters
Using then equation () to change the pressure and the number of particles,
After this process, the gas has parameters
Using then
Charles's law
Charles's law (also known as the law of volumes) is an experimental gas law that describes how gases tend to expand when heated. A modern statement of Charles's law is:
When the pressure on a sample of a dry gas is held constant, the Kelvin ...
(equation 2) to change the volume and temperature of the gas,
After this process, the gas has parameters
Using simple algebra on equations (), (), () and () yields the result:
or
where
stands for the
Boltzmann constant
The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas cons ...
.
Another equivalent result, using the fact that
, where ''n'' is the number of
moles in the gas and ''R'' is the
universal gas constant
The molar gas constant (also known as the gas constant, universal gas constant, or ideal gas constant) is denoted by the symbol or . It is the molar equivalent to the Boltzmann constant, expressed in units of energy per temperature increment pe ...
, is:
which is known as the ideal gas law.
If three of the six equations are known, it may be possible to derive the remaining three using the same method. However, because each formula has two variables, this is possible only for certain groups of three. For example, if you were to have equations (), () and () you would not be able to get any more because combining any two of them will only give you the third. However, if you had equations (), () and () you would be able to get all six equations because combining () and () will yield (), then () and () will yield (), then () and () will yield (), as well as would the combination of () and () as is explained in the following visual relation:

where the numbers represent the gas laws numbered above.
If you were to use the same method used above on 2 of the 3 laws on the vertices of one triangle that has a "O" inside it, you would get the third.
For example:
Change only pressure and volume first:
then only volume and temperature:
then as we can choose any value for
, if we set
, equation () becomes:
combining equations () and () yields
, which is equation (), of which we had no prior knowledge until this derivation.
Theoretical
Kinetic theory
The ideal gas law can also be derived from
first principles using the
kinetic theory of gases
Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to:
* Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion
* Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to its motion
Art and ent ...
, in which several simplifying assumptions are made, chief among which are that the molecules, or atoms, of the gas are point masses, possessing mass but no significant volume, and undergo only elastic collisions with each other and the sides of the container in which both linear momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.
The fundamental assumptions of the kinetic theory of gases imply that
:
Using the
Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, the fraction of molecules that have a speed in the range
to
is
, where
:
and
denotes the Boltzmann constant. The root-mean-square speed can be calculated by
:
Using the integration formula
:
it follows that
:
from which we get the ideal gas law:
:
Statistical mechanics
Let q = (''q''
x, ''q''
y, ''q''
z) and p = (''p''
x, ''p''
y, ''p''
z) denote the position vector and momentum vector of a particle of an ideal gas, respectively. Let F denote the net force on that particle. Then the time-averaged kinetic energy of the particle is:
:
where the first equality is
Newton's second law
Newton's laws of motion are three basic laws of classical mechanics that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws can be paraphrased as follows:
# A body remains at rest, or in motion ...
, and the second line uses
Hamilton's equations and the
equipartition theorem. Summing over a system of ''N'' particles yields
:
By
Newton's third law and the ideal gas assumption, the net force of the system is the force applied by the walls of the container, and this force is given by the pressure ''P'' of the gas. Hence
:
where dS is the infinitesimal area element along the walls of the container. Since the
divergence
In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of th ...
of the position vector q is
:
the
divergence theorem implies that
:
where ''dV'' is an infinitesimal volume within the container and ''V'' is the total volume of the container.
Putting these equalities together yields
:
which immediately implies the ideal gas law for ''N'' particles:
:
where ''n'' = ''N''/''N''
A is the number of
moles of gas and ''R'' = ''N''
A''k''
B is the
gas constant.
Other dimensions
For a ''d''-dimensional system, the ideal gas pressure is:
:
where
is the volume of the ''d''-dimensional domain in which the gas exists. Note that the dimensions of the pressure changes with dimensionality.
See also
*
*
*
*
Gas laws
*
*
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Configuration integral (statistical mechanics)where an alternative statistical mechanics derivation of the ideal-gas law, using the relationship between the
Helmholtz free energy
In thermodynamics, the Helmholtz free energy (or Helmholtz energy) is a thermodynamic potential that measures the useful work obtainable from a closed thermodynamic system at a constant temperature ( isothermal). The change in the Helmholtz ener ...
and the
partition function, but without using the equipartition theorem, is provided. Vu-Quoc, L.
Configuration integral (statistical mechanics) 2008. this wiki site is down; se
this article in the web archive on 2012 April 28
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ideal Gas Law
Gas laws
Ideal gas
Equations of state
1834 introductions