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Kinetic Theory

In Our Time: Science

CHAPTER

Introduction

In 1662, Robert Boyle observed that when the volume of a gas goes up, the pressure goes down. The most popular explanation for that endorsed by Newton was that there were tiny static particles in the gas. What though, if the atoms were not static but moving quickly, what would flow from that? A lot, it's turned out. On those who developed this moving kinetic theory of gases helped unlock much of modern physics - including temperature and quantum theory.

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