Boyle's Law
The 17th century physicist Robert Boyle described the relationship between the pressure and volume of a gas. According to Boyle's law, the pressure exerted by a gas held at a constant temperature varies inversely with the volume of the gas. For example, if the volume is halved, the pressure is doubled; and if the volume is doubled, the pressure is halved. The reason for this effect is that a gas is made up of loosely spaced molecules moving at random. If a gas is compressed in a container, these molecules are pushed together; thus, the gas occupies less volume. The molecules, having less space in which to move, hit the walls of the container more frequently and thus exert an increased pressure.
Boyle's Law actually applies only to an ideal, theoretical gas. When real gases are compressed at a constant temperature, changes in the relationship between pressure and volume occur. However, the law is accurate enough to be useful in a number of practical applications. It is used, for example, in calculating the volume and pressure of internal-combustion engines and steam engine. This principle is also at work in a hospital syringe, the vitality of deep sea creatures, and the uncomfortable feeling in your ear when you rapidly change altitudes. Even a simple air pump used to inflate a tire demonstrates Boyle's Law, as the volume of air in a cylinder is compressed, and the pressure is increased.
Stated as a formula, Boyle's Law reads: V1/V2=P2/P1 (at constant temperature), where V1 equals the original volume, V2 equals the new volume, P1 the original pressure, and P2 the new pressure.
Robert Boyle give this advice on the origin of nature.
"I, that had much rather have men not philosophers than not Christians, should be better content to see you ignore the mysteries of nature, than deny the author of it."
Scripture reference: Job 28:23-25
"God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure."
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