CHARLES'S LAW

a statement that the volume occupied by a fixed amount of gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature, if the pressure remains constant. This empirical relation was formulated by the French physicist J.-A.-C. Charles about 1787 and later by Joseph Gay-Lussac. It is a special case of the general gas law and can be derived from the kinetic theory of gases under the assumption of a perfect (ideal) gas. Measurements show that at constant pressure the thermal expansion of real gases, at sufficiently low pressure and high temperature, conforms closely to Charles's law. See also perfect gas.