Gas Laws relating to Human Factors

Introduction

Green, Muir, Gradwell, and Green (19961) show that the gas laws of most relevant to aviation human factors are;

  • Boyle's Law
  • Charles' Law
  • Dalton's Law

It is important for pilots to understand these laws as their understanding will help them gauge the effects of the human body gaining altitude when in an aircraft.

Boyel's Law

Boyel's Law is related to pressure and volume.

Boyles_Law_animated.gif
An animation showing the relationship between pressure and volume when amount and temperature are held constant. (image embedded from Wikipedia on 18 Sept 2012)

Charles' Law

Charles' Law is related to temperature and volume.

Charles_and_Gay-Lussac%27s_Law_animated.gif
An animation demonstrating the relationship between volume and temperature. (image embedded from Wikipedia on 18 Sept 2012)

Dalton's Law

Dalton's Law is related to the relationship of partial pressure of a gas and its fractional concentration (Green et al., 19961, Robson, 20082).

trans_daltons_law1.gif
An image exemplifying that the total pressure exerted by a mixture of non-reactive gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual gases. (image embedded from Yesican-Science on 18 Sept 2012)
References
1. Green, R. G., Muir, H., James, M., Gradwell, D., & Green, R. L. (1996). Human Factors for Pilots (2nd ed.). USA: Ashgate.
2. Robson, D. (2008). Human Being Pilot: Human Factors for Aviation Professionals. Australia: Aviation Theory Centre.
3. Wikipedia. (2012). Boyle's law. Retrieved 18 September, 2012 from Wikipedia
4. Wikipedia. (2012). Charles's law. Retrieved 18 September, 2012 from Wikipedia
5. Wikipedia. (2012). Dalton's law. Retrieved 18 September, 2012 from Wikipedia
6. Yesican-Science. (2012). Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure Retrieved 18 September, 2012 from Yesican-Science

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