The **ideal gas law** is a fundamental equation in chemistry and physics that describes the behavior of an ideal gas. The equation is given by \[ PV = nRT \] where:
- \(P\) is the pressure of the gas
- \(V\) is the volume of the gas
- \(n\) is the number of moles of the gas
- \(R\) is the ideal gas constant (\[8.314 \quad J/(mol \, K) \]
- \(T\) is the temperature of the gas in Kelvin
This law assumes ideal conditions where gas molecules do not attract or repel each other, and the volume of the individual gas molecules is negligible compared to the volume of the container.
It is crucial to understand that real gases deviate from ideal behavior under conditions of high pressure and low temperature because intermolecular forces and molecular sizes become significant. Under these conditions, the assumptions of the ideal gas law do not hold, and corrections need to be made using the van der Waals equation.