The gas constant (also known as the molar, universal, or ideal gas constant, denoted by the

symbol R or R) is a which is featured in many fundamental equations in the physical sciences,

such as the and the
It is equivalent to the , but expressed in units of (i.e. the pressure-volume product) per
Physically, the gas constant is the that happens to relate the energy scale in physics to the
temperature scale, when a mole of particles at the stated temperature is being considered. Thus,
the value of the gas constant ultimately derives from historical decisions and accidents in the
setting of the energy and temperature scales, plus similar historical setting of the value of used
for the counting of particles. The last factor is not a consideration in the value of the which does
a similar job of equating linear energy and temperature scales.
The gas constant value is

8.3144598(48) J mol1 K1
The two digits in are) in the last two digits of the value. The relative uncertainty is 5.7107.
Some have suggested that it might be appropriate to name the symbol R the Regnault constant
in honour of the, whose accurate experimental data were used to calculate the early value of the
constant; however, the exact reason for the original representation of the constant by the letter R
is elusive
The gas constant occurs in the ideal gas law, as follows:

Dimensions of R
From the general equation PV = nRT we get:

where P is pressure, V is volume, n is number of moles of a given substance, and T is As pressure

is defined as force per unit area, the gas equation can also be written as:

Area and volume are (length)2 and (length)3 respectively. Therefore:

Since force length = work:

The physical significance of R is work per degree per mole. It may be expressed in any set of
units representing work or energy (such as joules), other units representing degrees of
temperature (such as degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit), and any system of units designating a mole
or a similar pure number that allows an equation of macroscopic mass and fundamental particle
numbers in a system, such as an ideal gas (see Instead of a mole the constant can be expressed by
considering.

Relationship with the Boltzmann constant

kB (often abbreviated k) may be used in place of the gas constant by working in pure particle
count, N, rather than amount of substance, n, since

where NA is the example, the ideal gas law in terms of Boltzmann's constant is

where N is the number of particles (molecules in this case), or to generalize to an inhomogeneous

system the local form holds:

where n is the

where:

0 is the

= 273.16 K by definition of the kelvin;

Ar(Ar) is the relative atomic mass of argon and Mu = 103 kg mol1.

Specific gas constant

Rspecific
for dry air
287.058
53.3533
1716.49

Units
Jkg1K1

Based on a mean molar mass

for dry air of 28.9645 g/mol.

The specific gas constant of a gas or a mixture of gases (Rspecific) is given by the molar gas
constant divided by the M) of the gas/mixture.

Just as the ideal gas constant can be related to the Boltzmann constant, so can the specific gas
constant by dividing the Boltzmann constant by the molecular mass of the gas.

Another important relationship comes from thermodynamics. Mayer's relation relates the specific
gas constant to the specific heats for a calorically perfect gas and a thermally perfect gas.

where cp is the specific heat for a constant pressure and cv is the specific heat for a constant
volume.[4]
It is common, especially in engineering applications, to represent the specific gas constant by the
symbol R. In such cases, the universal gas constant is usually given a different symbol such as R
to distinguish it. In any case, the context and/or units of the gas constant should make it clear as
to whether the universal or specific gas constant is being referred to.[5]

U.S. Standard Atmosphere

The 76 (USSA1976) defines the gas constant R* as:[6] [7]