boyle's law
Preserved but no longer current.
The volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure if the temperature remains constant. If we double the pressure on a gas, its volume is reduced to one-half; if we quadruple the pressure, it will be reduced to one-fourth; and so on; so called from the Hon. Robert Boyle (1627-9 l).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “boyle's law” mean?
The volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure if the temperature remains constant. If we double the pressure on a gas, its volume is reduced to one-half; if we quadruple the pressure, it will be reduced to one-fourth; and so on; so called from the Hon. Robert Boyle (1627-9 l).
Is “boyle's law” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.