Otto von Guericke (1602 – 1686)

(Vacuum Pump – 1654)

The Historical Gas Laws

Boyle’s Law

Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691)

Jacques Charles (1746 – 1823) Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778 – 1850)

Charles’ or Gay-Lusacc’sLaw

Temp [oC] Volume [cm3] (P=1 atm)

Volume [cm3](P = 2 atm)

26.85 24430 12120

36.85 25264 12544

46.85 26094 12967

56.85 26929 13389

66.85 27759 13810

76.85 28588 14229

Ideal Gas Temperature Scale

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin(1824 – 1907)

Single Fixed Point• Triple Point of Water 273.16 K

Law of Combining Volumes

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778 - 1850)

The ratio between the volumes of the reactant gases and the products can be expressed in simple whole numbers.

Equal Volumes of Gas Contain Equal Numbers of “Particles”

Problems Interpreting Combining Volume Data

Assume Water’s Chemical Formula is HO

Assume Water’s Chemical Formula is H2O

The Answer!

Amedeo Avogadro (1776 - 1856)

Stanislao Cannizzario (1826 - 1910)

H2 O2 H2O

Meyer’s Reaction to Cannizzaro

It was as though the scales had been lifted from my eyes.

Doubt vanished and was replaced by a feeling of peaceful clarity.

Julius Lothar von Meyer (1830 – 1895)

Density DataDimethyl Ether