henry's law
Noun: 1. A principle in physical chemistry: Henry's Law is a gas law which states that at a constant temperature, the amount of a given gas that dissolves in a given type and volume of liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in equilibrium with that liquid.
Henry's Law is used to describe and calculate the solubility of gases in liquids, particularly in fields like chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental science, and biology. * Example: According to Henry's Law, opening a soda bottle reduces the pressure above the liquid, causing dissolved carbon dioxide to come out of solution as bubbles. * Example: Henry's Law constants are essential for modeling how oxygen dissolves in water bodies, which is critical for aquatic life.
- Mathematical Expression: The law is often expressed as , where is the partial pressure of the gas, is its concentration in the liquid, and is the Henry's Law constant (which is specific to the gas, liquid, and temperature).
- Limitations: Henry's Law applies accurately to gases that do not undergo chemical reaction with the solvent (e.g., oxygen in water). It is less accurate for gases that react, such as carbon dioxide or ammonia in water.
- Henry's Law Constant (k_H): (Noun) The proportionality constant in Henry's Law, which quantifies the solubility of a specific gas in a specific solvent at a given temperature.
- Solubility: (Noun) The ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent.
- Partial Pressure: (Noun) The pressure that a single gas in a mixture would exert if it occupied the entire volume alone.
- Gas Solubility Law: A descriptive synonym highlighting the law's subject matter.
- Equilibrium: The state where the rate of gas dissolving into the liquid equals the rate of gas escaping from the liquid.
- Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures: A related law concerning the total pressure exerted by a mixture of gases.
- (chemistry) law formulated by the English chemist William Henry; the amount of a gas that will be absorbed by water increases as the gas pressure increases