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Glite Dictionary
gas constant

gas constant

5.7
A fixed number used in the ideal gas law to connect energy, temperature and amount of gas
  • noun
  • /ɡæs ˈkɒnstənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : constante de gas
  • The following experimental and theoretical advances made during the 13-year period between the 1986 and 1998 adjustments contributed to the reduction of the uncertainties for the fine-structure constant a, Planck constant h, and molar gas constant R.

Examples

  • The gas constant can be expressed in joules per kelvin per mole, which is crucial for thermodynamic equations.

  • A new value of the gas constant R would have a more profound effect.

    Academic text (1993)

  • OK, so this is the gas constant for the gas in question.

  • We have our friend R which is the gas constant and this depends on temperature.

  • It's the gas constant per molecule rather than per mole.

  • It's RT over G, the gas constant times the temperature divided by the surface gravity.

  • In the ideal gas law, the value of the gas constant R is essential for calculations.

  • Scientists use the gas constant to determine the behavior of gases under various conditions.

Synonyms

R
vsgas constant
  • Specialized
3 8.9

A constant used in the gas law to relate pressure, volume, and temperature

is the same value but usually referred to by its full formal name
universal gas constant
vsgas constant
  • Specialized
6.2

A number used in the ideal gas law to link energy, temperature, and amount of gas

is the same value but often written as a single-letter symbol in equations

Surface Forms

gas constant singular
gas constants plural

Morphology

gas + constant

The phrase straightforwardly combines 'gas' (the domain) with 'constant' (a fixed value), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a fixed value related to gases. However, the specific scientific sense — the universal gas constant R and its role/value in the ideal gas law — is technical and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the term only partly transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Gas constant comes from the idea that one fixed number works in the math for many gases. The word gas shows it is about gases and constant means that number does not change, so people use this single value, often written as R, in gas calculations.