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Van der Waals equation

From AoPSWiki

The van der Waals equation is an equation of state in thermodynamics relating the physical quantities pressure, volume, temperature, and van der Waals forces in a gas.

Equation

The law states: \left(P-\alpha\frac{n^2}{V^2}\right)(V-\beta n)=nRT where \alpha and \beta are dependent on the gas, V is the volume, P is the pressure, n is the number of moles of gas, R is the universal gas constant, T is the temperature.

The van der Waals equation is useful for high-pressure gases where the ideal gas law is inaccurate.

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