van der Waals equation
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van der Waals equation
n.
An equation of state that relates the pressure, volume, and absolute temperature of a gas taking into account the finite size of molecules, and their intermolecular attraction, having the form RT = (P + av-2)(v - b), where R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, P is the pressure, v is the volume, and a and b are constants.
[After Johannes Diderik van der Waals.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
van der Waals equation
(ˈvæn də ˌwɑːlz)n
(General Physics) an equation of state for a non-ideal gas that takes account of intermolecular forces and the volume occupied by the molecules of the gas
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