Laws relating the temperature, pressure, and volume of an ideal gas. Boyle’s law states that the pressure (p) of a specimen is inversely proportional to the volume (V) at constant temperature (pV = constant). The modern equivalent of Charles’ law states that the volume is directly proportional to the thermodynamic temperature (T) at constant pressure (V/T = constant); originally this law stated the constant expansivity of a gas kept at constant pressure. The pressure law states that the pressure is directly proportional to the thermodynamic temperature for a specimen kept at constant volume. The three laws can be combined in the universal gas equation, pV = nRT, where n is the amount of gas in the specimen and R is the gas constant. The gas laws were first established experimentally for real gases, although they are obeyed by real gases to only a limited extent; they are obeyed best at high temperatures and low pressures. See also equation of state.