The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
According to the kinetic theory of gases, gas pressure is the force exerted by a gas on a unit area. In a gaseous systems the gas molecules are in continual motion and the hotter the gas the faster its molecules are moving. When these moving molecules (or atoms) strike an object they exert a force upon the object. Accordingly, gas pressure is an indirect measure of the kinetic energy of gas molecules and is a direct measure of the sum of the forces of collision over a defined unit area.
The speed with which a gas molecule moves is directly related to its temperature. The greater the rate of movement (molecular velocity) the greater number of molecular collisions with a given surface area. In addition, greater molecular velocity imparts a greater momentum at impact and means that the molecules carry a increased kinetic energy into collisions. All of these factors contribute to an increased gas pressure.
Just as pressure and temperature are connected, so are pressure and volume. Reducing the volume of a trapped gas means a shorter distance for the gas molecules to travel before colliding with the walls of the container. Trapping gas inside a container and then reducing the volume of the container will mean an increase in gas pressure. In fact, reducing the volume by one half will double the number of collisions and thus double the pressure. This is the basis of Boyle's law formulated by English physicist Robert Boyle (1627-1691) in 1662. Boyle's law states that, for an ideal gas at constant temperature, the pressure (p) of a gas varies inversely with volume (v). In equation form pv = k, a constant. Boyle's law is broadly applicable to real gases at lower pressure but fails to provide accurate results at high pressures or temperatures.