Many of us might not be aware of the fact that Chemistry is all around us, the several objects and the products that we use in our daily life are all comprised of chemistry. The human body itself is all about chemistry. However, there is much more to chemistry. It is the very basic guideline that we follow so that we don’t end up in disasters. Well yes, of course, it is the study of chemicals but let’s think big here chemistry has some diverse branches such as food chemistry, agricultural chemistry, and environmental chemistry.
If I am not wrong, many of us live by some moral code. We can see the laws everywhere from the criminal laws to physics law. The same goes for chemistry as well. I think chemistry laws are very much under-appreciated. These laws help us to stay alive as a matter of fact and trust me I am not at all kidding. So let us all take a close look into one of the laws of chemistry:- Gay-Lussac’s law
One of the states of matter, as we all know, is GASES. Since it’s a state of matter it has some mass. Also, gases have pressure, if you don’t believe me then just remember how the LPG gas cans explode.
Gay-Lussac grew up in French and in chemical revolutions. Being the professor of both chemistry and physics, he carried his research in the field of gases. He made many significant discoveries one of which was later known as Charles law in the honor of Jacques Charles. From his later experiments, he deduced that the gases, when mixed with simple proportions and these proportions, can be seen in the product/products formed at constant temperature and pressure. And that is how in 1808 Gay-Lussac’s law made its debut.
Lussac’s law states that ‘The pressure of a given mass of gas varies directly with the absolute temperature of the gas when the volume is kept constant.’
To put it simply, there is a relationship between the pressure of the gas with fixed mass and fixed volume and the absolute temperature of the gas. These two properties are directly proportional to each other, i.e. if the pressure of gasses increases then the temperature of the gas also increases. This law helps us to understand the relationship between the temperature of gas with the variation of the pressure and vice-versa.
For simplicity, the laws are always converted to their mathematical form for easy calculations and their understanding. So according to the low pressure and temperature are directly proportional,
P/T = k,
P = kT
Where k = constant
P = pressure of the gas
T = absolute temperature of the gas
The relationship can also be plotted on the graph. The graph gives a straight line with a positive slope passing through the origin when pressure is on Y-axis and temperature is on X-axis.
To derive the formula given by Gay Lussac’s the statement is very important which says the pressure of gas and the absolute temperature of gases are directly proportional. This means that if we multiply the initial pressure of the gas to the final temperature of gas then it should be equal to the multiplication of the initial temperature of the gas and the final pressure.
P1 =initial pressure of the gas
T1 = initial temperature of the gas
P2 = final pressure of the gas
T2 = final temperature of the gas
According to ideal gas law-
P1V = nRT1
P2V = nRT2
V = constant,
By dividing the two we are left with
P2/P1 = T2/T1
P2/T2 = P1/T1
which is Gay-Lussac’s law.
Cars tyres in summer
Have you wondered why we constantly need to check the car’s tire pressure in summers? And yes you guessed it right, with the increase in temperature in hot summers the gases inside the tire tend to expand and hence the pressure increases, which follows Gay’s law i.e. the pressure of the gas is directly proportional to the temperature of the gas. If not paid attention it can lead to major injuries and accidents if the tyres burst.
Pressure cooker
Pressure cookers are our everyday objects. It helps us to make lots of delicious food. If I were to ask you the working behind it most of you might say that the pressure cooker uses pressurized steam to cook the food. You are right. But only if I were to ask you the chemistry law which follows them I think most of you might not. But at this point, you can guess it. Yes, the Gays law. The hot temperature causes the water to evaporate and get convert into the steam. The steam which is a form of gas again gets heated and starts to expand. The expanded steam starts to hit the inner surface of the cooker which causes the pressure on the inner walls. Thus we can say that there is an increase in the pressure inside the cooker, which follows Gay-Lussac law.
Water heater
The water heater is the same as pressure cookers. The modern-day water heater is safe since the have regulator which automatically shuts down to prevent disaster. The cold water is heated by the heating coils. The water then causes an increase in the pressure of water inside the water heater. The steam formatting may damage the water heater. Precautions should be taken used while using any kind of water heater.
Aerosol Cans
Aerosols can are used by all of us. Have you ever wondered why it is always recommended to store the aerosol spray cans in cold temperatures? Well, this is because the cans contain aerosol under high pressures. When the top is compressed the aerosol comes out in the form of mist. If the cans are stored in hot temperatures it may cause the inside aerosols gasses to expand and cause pressure on the surface of the walls. If the pressure exerted is great enough then it may cause the can to explode. Hence, you should follow the warning and store the aerosols cans in cool temperatures.
