The Charles Law (Initial Volume) equation computes the starting volume of a fixed mass of gas before it underwent a change in temperature.

INPUTS

Based on Charles Law we can compute the final temperature after a change in volume give the following:

• `T_1`: the initial temperature before the volume change
• `T_2`: the resultant temperature
• `V_2`: the resultant volume

Remember to input temperatures in degrees Kelvin: K = C + 273.  However, other units are available and can be used.  vCalc will automatically convert them to Kelvin.

Notes

Charles law is an experimental gas law which describes how gases tend to expand when heated. Charles law states:  The volume of a given mass of a gas is directly proportional to its temperature (measured in Kelvin the absolute temperature scale). If pressure and the amount of gas remain constant; the law states, the volume of the gas increases or decreases by the same factor as its temperature change.  The law was named after scientist Jacques Charles, who formulated the original law in his unpublished work from the 1780s.

Jacques Charles (1746 - 1823) discovered the relationship between the volume of a gas and the temperature in 1787.  This relationship was discovered again independently by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac in 1802.

Charles is credited with many discoveries in the area of ballooning; he invented the suspending basket carried on balloons and the valves to regulate the gas in the balloons.  Charles was the first to experiment with small hydrogen filled balloons.