A sealed piston contains gas at 300 K and 1 atm pressure. You compress the gas to half its original volume while keeping the temperature constant.
What is the new pressure?
2 atm — exactly double! When you halve the volume at constant temperature, pressure doubles. This is Boyle's law: PV = constant.
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Push the piston to compress the gas. Watch the pressure gauge climb. The molecules have less room — they hit the walls more often!
PV = nRT
One equation, three laws: Boyle (constant T), Charles (constant P), Gay-Lussac (constant V)
Hot days increase tire pressure — same volume, higher T, so P increases
At 10m depth (2 atm), your lungs hold half the air volume — Boyle's law in action
As they rise, pressure drops, so the balloon expands — eventually popping at high altitude
“PV = nRT — four letters that explain everything from tire pressure to weather balloons.”
Piston Chamber
Control a piston with gas inside. Lock temperature, pressure, or volume constant and explore the other two.
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Try an adiabatic compression: push the piston fast. The temperature RISES even though you didn't add heat! The work you do compressing converts to thermal energy.
The gas law works because gas molecules are simple — they just bounce. Real gases deviate at high pressures and low temperatures when molecules start interacting.