Sunday, April 17, 2011

Objective 53: Dalton's Law and Boyle's Law

Define Dalton's law of partial pressure and Boyle's gas law and   relate both to respiratory physiology...


In chemistry and physics, Dalton's law (also called Dalton's law of partial pressures) states that the total pressure exerted by a gaseous mixture is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each individual component in a gas mixture. This empirical law was observed by John Dalton in 1801 and is related to the ideal gas laws. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton%27s_law



Boyle's law (sometimes referred to as the Boyle-Mariotte law) is one of many gas laws and a special case of the ideal gas law. Boyle's law describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system.[1][2] The law was named after chemist and physicist Robert Boyle, who published the original law in 1662.[3] The law itself can be stated as follows:
For a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, P [pressure] and V [volume] are inversely proportional (while one doubles, the other halves). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyles_law


Well, lets see here.  My initial reaction is HUH?  But lets start small.  I understand that Boyle's Law directly relates to inspiration and expiration in that these two processes are stimulated by differences in  atmospheric pressure and internal pressures.  Based on Boyle's Law the internal pressure inside the intrapulmonary space changes based on whether the lungs are expanded or recoiled because the size of the container affects the pressure of the gas that it contains.  Especially in a container that change size 12 to 20 times a minute.   

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