Answer to Question #161869 in Molecular Physics | Thermodynamics for Umutijima

Question

What are the various gas laws ? Elaborate them . What is the application of gas laws in anesthesia practice ?

Answer 1

Boyle’s law states that, at constant temperature, the pressure P of a gas varies inversely with its volume V, or PV = k, where k is a constant. Charles’s law states that, at constant pressure, the volume V of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature T, or V/T = k. These two laws can be combined to form the ideal gas law, a single generalization of the behaviour of gases known as an equation of state, PV = nRT, where n is the number of gram-moles of a gas and R is called the universal gas constant. Though this law describes the behaviour of an ideal gas, it closely approximates the behaviour of real gases.

Boyle's law can be used to describe the effects of altitude on gases in closed cavities within the body, and to calculate the total intra-thoracic gas volume by body plethysmography.

Respiratory gas measurements of tidal volume & vital capacity etc are done at ambient temperature while these exchanges actually take place in the body at 37 °C.