Some of the earliest quantitative measurements were performed on gases.

One early study was conducted by Robert Boyle in 1662. Robert Boyle employed a J-shaped piece of glass tubing that was sealed on one end. A gas (air) was trapped in the sealed end of the tube and varying amounts of mercury were added to the J-shaped tube to vary the pressure of the system. Boyle systematically varied the pressure and measured the volume of the gas. These measurements were performed using a fixed amount of gas and a constant temperature. In this way Boyle was able to examine the pressure-volume relationship without complications from other factors such as changes in temperature or amount of gas. To prove the law, Boyle pumped oxygen (a gas) into a J-shaped tube of glass that was sealed at one end. Using a burner to keep the oxygen at a constant temperature, he then poured different amounts of mercury into the tube, which varied the pressure on the oxygen. He found that the more pressure he applied, the smaller the volume of the oxygen, and this reduction happened at a constant rate. Boyle's Law specifically relates to an ideal gas that is, a theoretical gas that is made up of random particles that do not interact. Although no real gasses are ideal gasses, most do display these ideal characteristics under normal conditions.

Real-World Examples
One example of Boyle's Law in action can be seen in a balloon. Air is blown into the balloon; the pressure of that air a gas pushes on the rubber, making the balloon expand. If one end of the balloon is squeezed, making the volume smaller, the pressure inside increases, making the un-squeezed part of the balloon expand out. There is a limit to how much the gas can be compressed, however, because eventually the pressure becomes so great that it causes the balloon (or any container) to break. A different example is a syringe for taking blood. An empty syringe has a fixed amount of gas (air) in it; if the plunger is drawn back without the needle end being inserted into anything, the volume of the tube will increase and the pressure will drop, causing more air to move into the tube to equalize the pressure. If the syringe is inserted into a vein and the plunger drawn back, blood will flow into the tube since the pressure in the vein is higher than the pressure in the syringe. Another way of describing Boyle's law is that when pushed, a gas tends to push back. Without the massive amount of gravity holding them together, the solar system's gas planets would rapidly diffuse in all directions, quickly depressurizing. In this case, the pressure of gravity regulates the volume of the gases around these planets. Data Analysis

Once the volume-pressure data has been obtained, the next challenge is to determine the mathematical relationship between the two properties. Although an enormous number of relationships are possible, one likely possibility is that the volume will be directly related to the pressure raised to some power: V = CBL P a The exponent a is expected to be independent of the mass of gas and temperature; the goal is to determine the value of a from the "experimental" data. The constant CBL is expected to vary with the mass of gas and the temperature; at this point, this constant is not of interest. A simple way to determine the value of a is to prepare a plot of ln V vs ln P. If the proposed relationship is valid (and it might not be valid), this plot should yield a straight line of slope a. Thus the linearity of the plot serves as a test of our original hypothesis (that the volume-pressure relation may be described by the equation shown above). Assuming that temperature remains constant, the volume and pressure of a certain quantity of a gas are inversely proportional. Mathematically, this can be represented as: Pressure = Constant/Volume or Volume = Constant/Pressure or Pressure x Volume = Constant Substituting in variables, the formula is: PV=K Because the formula is equal to a constant, it is possible to solve for a change in volume or pressure using a proportion: PV = P1V1

Boyle's law states: At constant temperature, the volume of a gas varies inversely with the pressure, while the density of a gas varies directly with pressure. Simplified: If temperature is kept constant, as air pressure increases the volume of a gas decreases, and vice versa.

Mathematically,

where P and V are the pressure and volume, respectively, and K is a constant. Change P, and V will change in the opposite direction, so that their product is maintained at a constant value. Now let's illustrate this law. Suppose you have a container open on one end that is inverted over water; as the container is lowered in the water the trapped air will be compressed by the water pressure (Figure 7). Assume the container holds one liter of air at sea level pressure (one atmosphere). PV = 1 liter x 1 atm. = 1. Increase the air pressure to 2 atmospheres and Boyle's law predicts the volume of air in the container will be 1/2 liter (Figure 7).

Figure 7. A container open on one end has one liter of air at one atmosphere. The air is compressed by taking it under water. Boyle's law predicts that at two atmospheres pressure (33 fsw) the volume of air in the container will decrease by one half and the density of air will double. At 3 atmospheres pressure, the volume of air will be 1/3 of that at sea level; and the density triples; etc. Note that Boyle's law also relates to gas density. Increase the pressure of a fixed volume of gas and the density increases, and vice versa. This part of the law becomes particularly important on deep dives; it predicts that the inhaled air will become denser the deeper one

goes. As a result of increasing air density, deep divers often notice greater difficulty breathing. Boyles law states that at constant temperature for a fixed mass, the absolute pressure and the volume of a gas are inversely proportional. The law can also be stated in a slightly different manner, that the product of absolute pressure and volume is always constant. Most gases behave like ideal gases at moderate pressures and temperatures. The technology of the 17th century could not produce high pressures or low temperatures. Hence, the law was not likely to have deviations at the time of publication. As improvements in technology permitted higher pressures and lower temperatures, deviations from the ideal gas behavior became noticeable, and the relationship between pressure and volume can only be accurately described employing real gas theory.[7] The deviation is expressed as the compressibility factor. Robert Boyle (and Edme Mariotte) derived the law solely on experimental grounds. The law can also be derived theoretically based on the presumed existence of atoms and molecules and assumptions about motion and perfectly elastic collisions (see kinetic theory of gases). These assumptions were met with enormous resistance in the positivist scientific community at the time however, as they were seen as purely theoretical constructs for which there was not the slightest observational evidence. Daniel Bernoulli in 1737-1738 derived Boyle's law using Newton's laws of motion with application on a molecular level. It remained ignored until around 1845, when John Waterston published a paper building the main precepts of kinetic theory; this was rejected by the Royal Society of England. Later works of James Prescott Joule, Rudolf Clausius and in particular Ludwig Boltzmann firmly established the kinetic theory of gases and brought attention to both the theories of Bernoulli and Waterston.

Equation
The mathematical equation for Boyle's law is:

where: p denotes the pressure of the system. V denotes the volume of the gas. k is a constant value representative of the pressure and volume of the system. So long as temperature remains constant the same amount of energy given to the system persists throughout its operation and therefore, theoretically, the value of k will remain constant. However, due to the derivation of pressure as perpendicular applied force and the probabilistic likelihood of collisions with other particles through collision theory, the

application of force to a surface may not be infinitely constant for such values of k, but will have a limit when differentiating such values over a given time. Forcing the volume V of the fixed quantity of gas to increase, keeping the gas at the initially measured temperature, the pressure p must decrease proportionally. Conversely, reducing the volume of the gas increases the pressure. Boyle's law is used to predict the result of introducing a change, in volume and pressure only, to the initial state of a fixed quantity of gas. The before and after volumes and pressures of the fixed amount of gas, where the before and after temperatures are the same (heating or cooling will be required to meet this condition), are related by the equation:

Boyle's law, Charles's law, and Gay-Lussac's law form the combined gas law. The three gas laws in combination with Avogadro's law can be generalized by the ideal gas law. Boyles Law states that pressure and volume of an ideal gas trapped in an enclosure are inversely proportional.

The concept of Boyles Law is that when the pressure of a gas is increased or decreased, the volume of the gas changes inversely proportional to it. A gas that has an increase in pressure, will have a decrease in its volume. A gas that decreases in pressure will increase in volume. Therefore, it is inversely proportional. The formula used for Boyles Law is P1V1=P2V2, where volume 1 and pressure 1 are values before manipulation and volume 2 and pressure 2 are values after. The product, PV, is constant only while the gas is behaving like an ideal gas.

A sealed syringe works in accordance to Boyles Law. When the syringe top is pulled, the volume is increased while the pressure is decreased. When the top of the syringe is pushed, the volume is decreased and the pressure inside the syringe is increased.

Another example that applies Boyles Law is our lungs. A cardinal rule in scuba diving is to not hold your breath. A diver at a depth of 10 m experiences significant water pressure which collapses the chest cavity. As the diver surfaces, the pressure decreases, and the air trapped in the lung expands. The safe practice is to continue breathing to allow the air to escape. If the diver holds her breath, lungs sustain serious injury. pressure, in mechanics, ratio of the force acting on a surface to the area of the surface; it is thus distinct from the total force acting

on a surface. A force can be applied to and sustained by a single point on a solid. However, a force can only be sustained by the surface of an enclosed fluid, i.e., a liquid or a gas. Thus it is more convenient to describe the forces acting on and within fluids in terms of pressure. Units of pressure are frequently force units divided by area units, e.g., pounds per square inch, dynes per square centimeter, or newtons (N) per square meter. Pressure is defined as force per unit area. It is usually more convenient to use pressure rather than force to describe the influences upon fluid behavior. The standard unit for pressure is the Pascal, which is a Newton per square meter. For an object sitting on a surface, the force pressing on the surface is the weight of the object, but in different orientations it might have a different area in contact with the surface and therefore exert a different pressure.