Charles's Law Calculator

Charles's Law states that the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature when pressure is held constant. Mathematically: V1/T1 = V2/T2. As temperature increases, gas volume increases proportionally.

The law requires absolute temperature because it describes proportional relationships. At 0 Kelvin, molecular motion stops and volume would theoretically reach zero. Using Celsius would give a zero-crossing at -273.15 C that breaks the proportional math.

V1/T1 = V2/T2, where V1 and V2 are initial and final volumes, T1 and T2 are initial and final temperatures in Kelvin. Rearrange to solve for any variable: V2 = V1 x T2/T1, or T2 = T1 x V2/V1.

A hot air balloon rises because heating the air inside increases its volume, making it less dense. A basketball left outside in winter deflates because cooler air reduces volume. Car tires lose pressure in cold weather for the same reason.

Charles's Law: volume vs temperature at constant pressure. Boyle's Law: volume vs pressure at constant temperature (P1V1 = P2V2). Combined gas law merges both: P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2.

If you double the absolute temperature (in Kelvin), the volume doubles. Going from 300K to 600K doubles volume. But going from 30 C to 60 C does NOT double volume because 30 C = 303K and 60 C = 333K (ratio is 1.10, not 2.0).

No. Charles's Law applies specifically to ideal gases. Liquids have much smaller thermal expansion coefficients. Water expands only about 0.02% per degree C, while gases expand about 0.37% per degree C at room temperature.

Jacques Alexandre Cesar Charles was a French inventor, scientist, and balloonist who first documented the relationship between gas volume and temperature around 1787. He also made the first manned hydrogen balloon flight in 1783.